


Soul Bound

by cheddarbug



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, I'll Update As I Go, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Weird take on Garleans winning the Battle of Carteneau
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:55:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 51,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22670578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cheddarbug/pseuds/cheddarbug
Summary: Aether just has not been the same since the fall of Dalamud. Some places have become devoid of aether completely while others are in overabundance. The seas surrounding La Noscea have become perilous to ships, Coerthas has fallen into an eternal winter, dust storms cover Thanalan and the Twelveswood has become nearly uninhabitable thanks to the corruption seeping into the world. Desperate times call for desperate measures and the only hope Eorzeans have for setting it right are fairy tales revolving around soul-marks. The Scions of the Seventh Dawn have taken it upon themselves to find these rare people and bring them together to the only place that might offer any answers for the trials they face as another Calamity quickly approaches.As if finding these specially marked people wasn't hard enough, it seems Hydaelyn saw fit to bestow marks upon those that find the idea impossible to believe. To make matters worse, these two might be the only ones capable of solving the mysterious puzzle of the Wanderer's Palace.It's up to the twelve marked souls to save the world from Calamity and chaos. The question is; will they succeed?
Relationships: Cid nan Garlond/Original Character(s), Nero tol Scaeva/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will be updated weekly. It is near completion (I am still working on it, but I've got 25 completed chapters, so I have time lol), but I just couldn't hold off any longer on posting it :)
> 
> Shoutout to my girl Panda Valentine for letting me bring Dainty into this world! If you haven't checked out her fics, please do so <3
> 
> Also, no Warriors of Light in this. Just a bunch of Echo users blessed with soul-marks, but the primary characters are Carine, Dainty, Cid, and Nero (of course ^^)
> 
> And yes. There absolutely will be smut. This is all a delicious slow burn to capture the feels man. We must capture the feels!

It was a universal rule that one did not venture into the Twelveswood late at night. This rule, like many others, had been blatantly disregarded by the Garleans that now marched through the beaten path toward Hawthorne Hut. 

Chirping insects accompanied the steady sound of metal boots in dirt. There was the occasional wild beast that watched warily from the brush, eyes glowing in the dim light that filtered through the canopy of the large trees that made up the Black Shroud. To the average Gridanian that called this place home, it might have been beautiful, yet Cid nan Garlond was oblivious to it all. 

Any other day, the Garlean would have been sailing overhead in his prized airship looking down over the trees rather than up at them. In fact, he felt well out of his element marching along with this meager unit of men that Gaius van Baelsar insisted accompany him. It seemed the Eorzeans had other plans however, for the airship he was  _ supposed _ to be flying in to Ul’dah had been grounded rather abruptly. 

Damned Eorzeans. Since when did they have the means to take down a Garlean airship?

Idly he scratched at his chest and the mark hidden just above his heart. Ever since they had crash landed it had been itching and burning. He suspected the surplus of aether in the air had something to do with it, the Black Shroud was thick with it compared to other nations, and this was no ordinary mark. 

The snapping of twigs to their left had the unit stop as one. Several of the soldiers pulled their weapons from their back, ready to fight whatever creature or person might be trailing them. Cid was no fighter. He could hold his own well enough in battle and had no issue defending himself when needed, but that didn’t mean he liked carrying a gunblade on his back. Now, as the hairs pricked on the back of his neck, he had wished he had taken them up on the offer to arm him before leaving the wreckage. 

A moment later and a small Opo opo made its appearance. Cid could feel the collective release of air from the men around him at the sight of the tiny, harmless beast, and even felt himself relax. A few of them chuckled amongst themselves at their reaction and one of them even aimed his weapon at the defenseless lemur.

Cid put his hand over the soldier’s in warning. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he told him with a firm shake of his head. He had heard enough tales from the Twelveswood to know to exercise caution. It had even been a lesson their Legatus had put the entire XIVth Legion through before allowing patrols out in these woods. The tension he felt coiled in his shoulders was enough warning to know now was not the time for playing games.

But the Imperial soldier didn’t seem to agree. His finger gripped the trigger and a loud boom echoed through the thick trunks of trees. Birds scattered from the branches above them squawking noisily and beasts of the ground bolted from nearby. Cid winced at the sound and held his breath waiting for the moment that was surely to come and bite them on the ass for such recklessness. 

“See, Garlond? Nothing to worry about,” the soldier patted his shoulder. “Do you think these savages eat this rubbish? Hundred gil says they do.”

Cid clenched his jaw and sighed. He was outnumbered six to one and killing just so happened to be a favorite past time of most Imperial soldiers. Any word of caution would fall on deaf ears, so he stood there in agitated silence while waiting on the man to collect his prize. 

The mark itched again and he scratched at it with a dissatisfied grunt. He began to wonder if during the crash it had been grazed by something causing this growing irritation. At least they were near Gridania which meant the few white mages with permits should be able to set him straight. Then it would be off to Ul’dah to examine the brand new airships he had designed and make sure they were in perfect functioning order. 

Fate had a different destination in mind, for he had barely begun reading through the second page when a stampede of frightened Opo opos crashed through the bushes and onto the overgrown path. Cid bumped into the soldier in front of him and dropped the tablet in his hands. With a muffled curse, he reached to grab the device when more creatures of the wood appeared. Beasts ranging from the vultures of the Shroud to the gnats that plagued the land and the Faerie Funguar followed in a frenzy. A few of the men chose to slay whatever poor animal that ventured too close for comfort as they huddled in a protective circle to prevent anyone or anything flanking them. 

“What do you think made them do that?” One asked. 

“The Black Shroud is full of predators. Could have been one of them on the hunt,” another replied. 

Cid shook his head and scratched at his chest. It seemed like every hair on his body was standing on end as waves of unease tightened his shoulders. He wasn’t a man of the Shroud, nor was he one of the Garleans in charge of researching the land of the Twelveswood, but he knew enough to know there wasn’t a beast in this entire forest that would cause a stampede like that. Whatever had spooked them was likely big and very dangerous. 

“We need to move. Now,” he ordered. Though not a soldier, Cid was one of the most important members of Garlean society and one of Gaius’ personal Tribunus Laticlavius and therefore called the shots with this group. He only kept the nan title because of his primary role as Minister of Industry, a position in which he took great pride in. 

An orange glow in the direction the stampede had come from stopped them in their tracks. Cid squinted his eyes to get a better look at whatever it was, whether it be friend or foe. Given the hostility that had grounded them in the first place, he wasn’t so sure he wanted to stick around and find out. 

But the glowing light seemed to be neither as it came into view. At first glance, it reminded the Garlean of the fairies summoned by Scholars. Seemingly harmless, the thing flitted around erratically, wings beating furiously as it followed the trail left behind for the beasts. It stopped once its diffuse glow fell upon the party, almost as if it were as surprised to see them as they were to see it. The closer it got, the more Cid’s instinct told him they should run. 

“What is  _ that?” _ one of the Imperials asked taking a step forward. 

“Stupid savages breaking the law is what it looks like to me,” another said. “Think it’s from the people that shot us down?”

Before Cid could reply, the soldier that had killed the Opo opo shrieked as his body began to glow. Right before their very eyes he disintegrated into a cloud of aether blown away on the wind, his howls still echoing through the Twelveswood. 

“Run!” he bellowed tearing past them all for safer ground. Whatever that thing was, it was powerful and dangerous. He wasn’t about to test his luck in trying to fight it. The others weren’t so lucky. A few kept pace with him while others shot at the creature. It did them little good because the forest was full of the sound of their screams being cut short. 

Cid pushed himself harder and faster keeping his eyes peeled for any sort of shelter from the glowing fairy thing that was killing his men one by one. As overgrown as the path was, as dense as the brush seemed, none of it looked safe enough to provide adequate protection from that monster. His breath came out in rapid gasps, nostrils burning as he exerted himself in his search for shelter. 

Another soldier tripped and fell behind him, his pleas for help nearly making the engineer turn around to aid him until his voice sounded no more. Knowing it would be no use to turn back, he pressed on until he could clearly see the faint glow of the aetheryte at Hawthorne Hut ahead. 

Quickly as he could he ducked into one of the abandoned buildings. He caught brief glimpses of the...thing...outside the window. It was still flying erratically zipping through the abandoned outpost in search of anyone it might have missed. It had just flitted past the window he was looking out when it paused. Eyes widened, Cid did the one thing he never should have done.

He froze.

It was a matter of breaths before he knew he would be obliterated into nothing, but something grabbed him from behind and pulled him to the ground. Instinct took over and he opened his mouth only to have a smaller hand close over it. The body behind him pulled him closer and he could feel the lips of his savior against his ear whisper, “If you want to live, shut the fuck up and be still.”

Well...that was certainly a way to get his attention. 

Cid stopped his struggling and did as they said. Submitting to the strong smell of leather gloves covering his face at the mercy of whoever this woman was seemed a better fate than facing whatever that thing was outside. The two of them waited with bated breath as the glow grew brighter in the hut. He could hear the sharp intake of breath from the woman behind him and even felt the heavy pounding of her heart against his back. 

She was scared too. 

He wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, cramped and pressed tightly together behind heavy crates before she allowed him to move. It started with her sigh of relief and a moment of relaxation in her hands to alert him that the danger must have passed. Even so, Cid was still too frightened that any sound he made might alert the monster to their location. 

His hesitation was met with an amused chuckle, “If you can’t take the heat, might be best not to piss off the Elementals, yeah? Maybe next time your kind will heed our warnings.”

Cid furrowed his brows. So  _ that _ was an Elemental? Truth be told, he had read up on them from the time before the fall of Dalamud, but according to the reports from scouts in the area, the creatures hadn’t been seen since. “Weren’t they wiped out?”

An annoyed snort answered him. The woman stood to her feet and dusted off her breeches and peered out the window. The dim lighting was enough to tell him he was in the presence of an Elezen, given the long pointed ears and tall lithe frame. 

“What are you doing out here?” he asked once he realized she wasn’t going to answer his other question. 

“The better question is, why are  _ you _ out here?”

“When it comes to the law of the land, it is  _ you _ that is breaking curfew, not I,” he replied gruffly. 

She snorted again and shook her head with a grin. “In case you haven’t realized, Three-eyes, this isn’t Garlemald. The law of the land doesn’t exactly apply here.”

He frowned at the insult but decided there was no point in wasting his breath with her. She clearly wasn’t going to waste hers with him. He picked himself up off the floor and made his way for the door. With any luck, some of the soldiers had made it to safety. The sooner they made it to Gridania, the sooner they could leave this damned place behind. 

The sound of a bow being drawn stopped him in his tracks, hand paused over the knob of the door. He turned slightly to see the Elezen with her weapon raised and aimed at his head, a smirk on her lips. “Just where do you think you’re going?”

“Threatening a Garlean’s life is grounds for public execution, in case you weren’t aware,” he politely informed her while holding his hands up. “If you let me go now, I might be of mind to let you go without incident.”

“Well would you look at that,” she grinned while still keeping her arrow pointed at him. “A tinhead with a bit of sense. I suppose I might have seen it all now.”

“I have strong ties with Gaius van Baelsar. Make your demands known and I could convince him to listen.”

This earned him an eyebrow raise. “Just how strong are your ties to the Legatus?”

“I’m one of his Tribunus Laticlavius,” he winced as his mark burned and itched again. As badly as he wanted to scratch it, the arrow at his face eliminated that possibility. 

The Elezen narrowed her eyes at him, unconvinced. “Tell me, Garlean. Are you any good with machines and ancient relics?”

That wasn’t a question he would have expected coming from the likes of an Eorzean and it had taken him by surprise that he wasn’t sure how to answer at first. At the moment, she had the upper hand. She was armed where he was not, and she probably knew these woods better than he did. Her stance was enough warning against fighting, even if he thought he might have the physical strength to subdue her. She was relaxed and calm, in her element. 

But giving her too much information could put him at even more risk with the Empire. His training had prepared him to fight which wasn’t an option. That left him with bargaining to get out of this mess. The problem was, Cid was not one to bargain. He left that to the likes of Rhitahtyn and Gaius, both skilled at figuring out their foe’s weakness. 

“One might say I am the best,” he finally replied in defeat. “Are you needing something fixed?”

Like him, there was confliction and hesitation in her pale eyes as she considered his words. The woman was definitely hiding something and that had piqued his interest. If he had to guess, the Eorzeans might have worked on salvaging the wreckage from Silvertear Lake and wanted someone to put it in working order. Cid could do that, or he could pretend to do it long enough to send a distress signal to one of the nearby castrums. 

The Elezen wasn’t able to answer him before the wooden door opened and a few more people walked in. Cid moved out of the way, carefully backing up as they stopped in surprise at the sight of him. 

“So one of them  _ did _ escape,” a Hyuran woman noted as she looked him up and down. “A shame for your friends. Can’t say they were quite so lucky.”

“Lyse, that’s enough,” a softer voice from a Miqo’te warned. “Carine, what were you thinking getting so close? You could have been killed.”

The Miqo’te’s tail fluffed and whipped back and forth as she narrowed her eyes at the Elezen who simply shrugged, “I think out of all of us, I have the most experience when dealing with Elementals, thank you.”

“Doesn’t mean you should get too close.”

“It worked out, didn’t it? I caught myself a tinhead and he claims to be one of the best engineers,” she replied with a smug grin.

All three of the newcomers turned to him in unison. Had it not been for the movement of one of them, he likely never would have noticed her as she tilted her head to examine him. She was tiny, at a glance, and looked as though she couldn’t be older than sixteen summers. He knew at once what she was as he recognized the cranial projections and scales that framed her young face that marked her for an Au’Ra. Raen, if he recalled correctly, due to the lighter color of her scales. 

What was one of them doing all the way out here?

As she steadily gazed at him, his mark burned like fire against his skin. He gritted his teeth through the pain, worried that any sudden movement would be the end of him. 

“Are you really the best?” she asked, her voice sweet and gentle with only the slightest edge to it. She sounded as pretty as she looked. 

“As I told your friend there, some might say that,” he replied calmly. “Though I would suggest not taking me in. Might not end like you think it will.”

“Yeah, well if your kind keeps on doing what they’re doing, your reign might not end like you think it will either,” the Elezen snapped. “At this point, it’s time to start taking some risks.”

The other two women nodded in agreement while the Au’Ra just continued to look at him quizzically. “We should just camp here for the night,” she suggested. “Too dangerous to make it to base. Carine, you take first watch.”

“With pleasure,” the Elezen grinned. “Get comfortable, Three-eyes. You’re in for a long night.”


	2. Chapter 2

Sleep did not come easy for Cid in that abandoned hut with the four women keeping an eye on him. Carine, the Elezen, had made it clear she didn’t trust a move he made. Every time he went to scratch the bloody mark on his chest she would either point an arrow at him or a dagger. That woman seemed to be full of weapons on her person. 

The next ones to watch him had been the Hyur and Miqo’te. They were more lenient than the Elezen in that they didn’t keep weapons pointed at him constantly, but the way they kept staring had him on edge. The proximity in which they sat alluded to them being close,  _ really _ close, and they whispered far too low for him to make out much. The Miqo’te, whom he had come to know as Y’shtola, had offered him water when she noticed him staring, but Cid was no fool. Eorzeans held no love for the Garleans that now ruled over them and taking a drink offered was akin to suicide. 

But it wasn’t the weapon savvy Elezen or the two ladies who seemed sweet on each other that kept Cid’s attention. It was the tiny Au’Ra with pale hair currently laying with her back facing him. The only movement that she made was occasionally rubbing at her upper thigh or a lazy twitch of her tail. He didn’t know what it was about her, but every time his eyes fell upon her sleeping form, the mark on his chest burned with an intensity that made him grit his teeth. 

He didn’t know what to make of that. The mark had never caused him any trouble before. Most days he could easily forget that it was there until he happened to look in the mirror while changing. Part of him wanted to ask them if they could take a look at it and make sure it hadn’t been damaged during the fall; Y’shtola had the look of a spellcaster given the wand at her side, but thought better of it. He could tell just from rubbing through the fabric of his shirt the skin hadn’t been damaged. 

The night waned on and eventually weariness claimed Cid sending him into a fitful sleep. Nightmares of glowing fairies and people turning to ash before his very eyes had his heart racing. No matter how fast or far he ran, no matter the technology he dreamed of having in his hands, nothing stopped them from destroying everything and everyone in their path.

A small hand on his shoulder jerked him awake, the pain exploding from his mark overriding his need for sleep. His eyes focused and unfocused on the Au’Ra who looked upon him with a worried expression. Her fingers pulled away quickly and touched her thigh, but otherwise she seemed unaffected as she tilted her head at him with curiosity. 

“Bad dream?”

Cid groaned and adjusted himself, neck and back popping from the cramped position he had fallen asleep in. It was still dark out, but there was the faintest hue of blue that meant morning was fast approaching. 

“I was hoping that was all it was,” he replied honestly. The fact he was holed up in a hut with four strange women and not a piece of magitek in sight confirmed the reality.

She nodded silently, eyes dropping down to her hands in her lap. “We’ll be leaving soon.”

“And where exactly will you be taking me?”

“Can’t say. That’s the rules.”

He grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest. It was worth a shot at the very least and she was carrying some of a conversation with him. Baby steps. “So, was that thing really an Elemental?”

“Mhmm,” she hummed while giving him her continued quizzical look. He wanted to ask what she found so fascinating about him, but he figured that wouldn’t have been met kindly. Besides, the more she studied him, the more he could study her in turn. 

He could tell she was pretty, that much he knew at a glance, but it was impossible to tell her age. Au’Ra were a fickle bunch where their women looked younger than they were and their men towered over their petite forms. He had seen plenty of them back in Othard where they hailed, but they were much more rare on this side of the eastern sea. How she ended up here, he could only guess. Why she stayed, well...Zenos  _ was _ the Viceroy of Doma and surrounding nations. Even he couldn’t blame her for wanting to leave that place if that was indeed her story. 

Curious as he was, Cid was not the best when it came to small talk. He was, by all means, their captive at the moment and there was no telling what he might ask or say that would give them offense. They fell into uncomfortable silence where the only sounds came from Carine’s muffled snoring and the occasional mumble from the Hyur in her sleep. 

He had to think of a way to get out of this before Gaius tore through the country looking for him. Given that he was supposed to report several bells ago that they had made it to UI’dah, he wasn’t sure how much time he had before that was a very real possibility. 

That was when an idea struck him. He might not have any weapons, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t leave a trail for the general to follow. The crash site would be the first place he would look and the abandoned post of Hawthorne Hut would have been the ideal place for the soldiers to wait out the night to continue making their way to Gridania. Now all that was left was learning at least what direction he might be going next to lead his rescue party straight to him and this base they had talked about the night before. 

Subtly he began carving into the smooth wooden floor of the hut with one of the metal studs from his gloves. He hoped that it would look like idle drawing and that maybe they wouldn’t recognize the symbols of High Garlean. As far as he knew, Eorzeans were never taught the language of his homeland giving the Empire a strategic advantage over them. So far, she seemed none the wiser as she looked out the window. 

“What is it you need me to fix anyway? Garlean weaponry? Broken scrap from the Agrius?” he wondered aloud as he etched his message into the wood. 

“Neither.”

“You are a woman of many words, aren’t you?”

“I can be. You’re just asking the wrong questions,” she replied. 

He shrugged at that. “Okay then. Who are you and what are you doing out this deep in the Twelveswood?”

Her lips quirked slightly, a hint of mischief in her eyes as she regarded him. “We’re here to catch a Garlean. Looks like so far we have been successful on that front,” she smiled in a way that nearly left him breathless. Had Au’Ra ever been this pretty before? Not that he could readily remember. “Oh, and you can call me Dainty.”

“Dainty…” he tasted the word on his tongue. That wasn’t a typical Au’Ra name, Raen or Xaela which ruled out Othard and the Azim Steppe. She was small, petite, beautiful...Dainty seemed to suit her just fine. “And what does a group of girls need with a Garlean?”

“You already know the answer to that, or at least as much as you need to know for now.”

Cid hmph’d and crossed his arms over his chest. Out of all the Garleans in the world they had to capture, it had to be the only one that couldn’t talk himself out of this situation. Whatever it was they wanted, it wasn’t immunity from the Empire. Whatever it was they had found, they didn’t want anyone tracking them to it. All of them were far more clever than he. 

That was when the next great idea of his came to mind. It had been hours since they had holed up in this cabin and if they were about to make another trip it would stand to reason he might have to empty his bladder. Given her diminutive stature, he figured there was no amount of training the woman could have to prevent him from overpowering her. Get her far enough away from the likes of the crazy Elezen, and he could be running for the nearest outpost as quickly as his legs could carry him. 

“Mind if we step outside?” he asked while doing his best to maintain neutrality. 

Dainty narrowed her eyes at him, “Why?”

“I need to piss.”

She frowned at his vulgarity, but it got the point across. She stood and stretched, bones popping and cracking as she made her way to the door. Cid followed close behind keeping his hands where she could see them lest she catch on to his plan. What he hadn’t expected however, was the giant axe that had been propped just out of his line of sight. 

He stared at her wide-eyed, his mind trying to comprehend how in Seven Hells she was able to lift that thing only for her to do one better and swing it up on her shoulder with practiced ease. Dainty opened the door and motioned for him to go ahead of her. “Well? Are you going to gawke or take care of business?”

She was far too relaxed and comfortable for his liking. That meant she knew how to use that weapon. If she knew how to use it effectively, there was no hope for him in executing his plan of escape and therefore his hopes of returning to Ala Mhigo were diminished. 

“Make it quick,” she ordered, and to Cid’s great relief, she granted him the privacy of turning her back towards him. “Try and run, and you won’t have to worry about fixing anything. Understood?”

He mumbled his reluctant agreement knowing full well he was outmatched. What he would have given to have taken up those soldiers on grabbing a weapon from the wreckage. 

A few minutes later he was walking back into the hut to see the others rousing from sleep. Each one of them turned to stare a moment as he and Dainty entered, but paid them no mind as they gathered up their gear and checked the boxes for anything that might have been missed when the post had been abandoned. He was shoved into a corner where they could easily keep an eye on him while they talked strategy for their next course of action.

“If we wait here much longer, they are going to come looking for the ship we dropped,” Lyse, said. “Sooner we move, the less likely they are going to find us.”

“I’m sorry, you mean the ship  _ I _ dropped,” Carine pointed out with smug satisfaction. “Your fists were less than useless.”

“Does it really matter who dropped the bloody ship so long as we got what we were after?” Y’shtola glanced at him with her large, cat-like eyes, tail swishing in agitation. “Best course of action is to get him back to base as quickly as possible without the Garleans seeing us. Carine, I think you are capable of doing that?”

The Elezen nodded and grinned. “Talon and I can get him halfway there before the sun sets if we leave in the next bell.”

“Don’t push that poor thing more than you have to. As long as we get him there in a couple days, that should be sufficient,” Dainty scolded with a pointed finger. “Tell me where to meet you and I’ll be there before nightfall to help keep eyes on him.”

Cid grew more interested the more they talked, his mind racing with the possibilities of where they might be taking him. They weren’t giving many clues and two days worth of travel could have been almost anywhere without the use of airships; technology he knew the Eorzeans didn’t have. 

Carine tapped her cheek and glanced back at him with pursed lips. “Wouldn’t be a bad idea to split. Maybe you two could head towards the South Shroud and Dainty can go towards Bentbranch.”

“If you think of throwing them off, they won’t be fooled at all by her,” Lyse pointed out. “Shinsake is too small to carry two people.”

“Doesn’t matter. They’ll likely follow all trails we leave,” Carine said. 

Cid had to hand it to them, they were nearly as thorough as his own race. Splitting up to throw off the trail, taking to the sky, it was all quite the master plan. Naturally the Garleans would follow any lead in search of their Minister of Industry. If there was even the smallest chance at catching just one of a rebel group, they would take it to weed them out and weaken their resolve. 

There was  _ one _ little thing they hadn’t considered while speaking of their plans however, and that was the fact Cid was untied and able to leave plenty of hints for whatever rescue party was looking for him. If they knew to search the air for something, they would do it. If they knew he was somewhere two days journey from here, that would give them a good perimeter to start looking. If he were to guess, he would be sitting down to a nice dinner in Ul’dah before the week was up and these ladies would be taken to the dungeons of one of the castrums likely never to see the light of day again. 

He had just finished scratching the last of his information when the Elezen returned to him with two strips of fabric. Her shit-eating grin and mischievous eyes told him that whatever was on her mind, he wasn’t going to be a fan of. 

“Hands please.”

“Why?”

She rolled her eyes and twisted the torn fabric in her hands. “In case you haven’t noticed, tinhead,  _ you _ are  _ our _ prisoner. The last thing I want is you getting handsy on me in midair trying to find something to kill me with.”

Reluctantly he gave her his hands, glowering all the while as she tied a too tight knot. As much as he wanted to complain, the chances of her loosening the tie for his benefit were nada. And if he thought she was done, he would have been wrong for the woman then decided to take the other bit of fabric and tie it tightly over his eyes. 

“And  _ that _ is so you don’t see where we are going till we get there.”

Again, he had to admit these girls weren’t stupid.

Carine hauled him to his feet and guided him out the door neither gently or slowly. When he tripped on the last step, she had been kind enough to offer him some support so he didn’t go flying into the dirt, but only just enough to keep him from doing so. He could hear the others speaking amongst each other with their plans, but their voices were soon drowned out by a high, keening whistle from Carine. 

Whatever Cid had thought her mount would be, he hadn’t expected whatever it was. Most Eorzeans chose Chocobos as their mounts and companions. The breeding of the horse-birds had been prohibited once the Empire conquered them, but it seemed that hadn’t stopped them from hiding the giant birds away. Their ‘kwehs and chirps were distinguished and easily recognizable. This thing that had just landed in a flurry of heavy wings, was much bigger. 

He was guided onto the beast and seated in a saddle large enough for two people. It smelled of fresh air and feathers, and seemed completely covered in them. He could feel it moving beneath him shifting slightly as Carine adjusted things and nudged Cid to where she wanted him. A minute later, she was seated behind him, long arms at his sides and chest to his back. 

“You might want to hold on to the saddle,” she helpfully warned him. Cid had barely maneuvered his hands before she clucked her tongue and pressed her legs against the beast, sending it into the air in an almost vertical leap. 

He didn’t know where he was going and he really didn’t care, but he hoped that once he was rescued this horrid woman would get what she deserved.


	3. Chapter 3

“What do you mean they’re gone?” Gaius demanded of the Centurio that now stood before him. 

The soldier was practically shaking in his boots under the steady glare of his Legatus, yet he repeated what had to be reported. “Cid nan Garlond never arrived at Ul’dah as scheduled. My unit was deployed from Gridania to where the last ping of his airship had been seen. The crash left the ship inoperable and it was clear they went by foot, but…”

“But what?” Gaius looked down at him from his throne while the Centurio fidgeted uncomfortably.

“Well, their tracks just disappeared.”

Gaius van Baelsar furrowed his brow beneath his helm. “People do not just disappear.”

“Of course, my lord. It is why we scoured the area as best we were able, but it led to naught. The tracks stopped abruptly just outside of Hawthorne Hut and there have been no reports of survivors.”

The Legatus tapped his fingers against the armrest of his throne in contemplation. He had no reason to believe that small unit, or even Cid was dead, but there was always the possibility that the Scions of the Seventh Dawn had grown bold enough to strike against the Empire. It was not every day that a Garlean airship could be dropped from the sky, but for an entire unit, even one as small as this one, to go missing was unheard of.

“Were there any other tracks?”

“Yes, my lord. I have two units that have spread out to follow the two sets of Chocobo prints found outside by the aetheryte,” he was informed. 

Only two sets? Seemed a small number for a group of rebels to take out that unit, but it confirmed that whatever had happened to the ship had been caused by someone rebelling against the Empire. No one used Chocobos anymore as Garlean technology was far more efficient and quick. How many of those birds had they slaughtered shortly after their takeover? Not enough apparently if there were still some running around. 

“Very well. You are dismissed,” he waved his hand and then pressed it to his helm. A few orders later and he was left alone in the throne room to contemplate. 

He never would have given the Eorzeans the benefit of trying to rebel when they had been so hopelessly crushed during the war. The fall of Dalamud had decimated most forces on both sides, but it had been the disruption of the aether that had given the Empire the upperhand. Naturally, as with any takeover, they had resisted, but Gaius was a patient man and knew well enough that time would weaken their resolve. 

Up until recently he thought it had. There had been a few reports here and there of secret gatherings held in abandoned outposts. Raids had been conducted, rebels caught, and finally the name of the group organizing such efforts had been dropped - The Scions of the Seventh Dawn.

Gaius supposed they thought the name poetic. He would have even admired them if their little rebellion wouldn’t end the same as every other rebellion Garlemald had faced with the nations subjugated. They were small, barely even a blip on his radar and, according to sources, they hardly had the forces to resist the will of the Empire. This attack however, changed his perspective on their current abilities. The fact they made an entire unit, even if only six or so trained soldiers, disappear made him uneasy.

Emperor Varis would likely disapprove and demand blood.

The doors opened from across the room, their heavy mass scraping against the smooth stone floor announcing the arrival of the man he wanted to see. Nero tol Scaeva strutted in wearing maroon armor trimmed in black and gold, his own custom set that he was more than proud to show off, with his dragon helmet tucked under his arm. Upon reaching the foot of the throne Gaius sat upon, the blond Garlean dropped to one knee and bowed. 

“You summoned me, my lord?”

“I need you to investigate a crashed ship in the Black Shroud,” Gaius ordered as he stood to his feet. “A few malms from between Castrum Oriens and Hawthorne Hut. I can arrange a guide to get you there.”

Nero looked up at him with knitted brows, one lone curl dangling over his third eye. “I hardly see how that is in my job description.”

“Your  _ job _ is obeying my orders,” the Legatus growled. “And this serves your better interests. Seven men went missing last night, one of which was Cid.”

The other man grinned and stood to his full height. “Oh what an absolute  _ shame. _ Whatever will we do without the Minister of Industry to guide our way into the future?”

Gaius frowned beneath his mask wondering whether or not he should save himself the headache and just explore the wreckage himself. Alas, that would leave Nero in charge of things in Ala Mhigo and he knew that wasn’t a better alternative. “Just see that it is done. It will not take long before his Radiance takes notice of Cid’s absence.”

“As you wish, my lord.”

***

Flying through the air on something other than an airship had its disadvantages, Cid soon learned as his body shivered from the cold winds sailing past them. The only source of warmth came from the woman whose arms were pressed to his sides, his back to her chest as she steered them through the sky. Much to his growing displeasure, the cold did not seem to bother her as it ought to have, so there were no breaks on their journey. The only comfort he had was the further they traveled from that cursed forest, the less his mark seemed to ache until he could no longer feel it at all. 

A few times Cid was sure Carine had spotted Garlean ships because she would quickly bank or dive, nearly unseating him in the process. He could see nothing at all save his tied hands clinging to the horn of the saddle for all they were worth, knuckles white and skin red from the cold air. Occasionally she would speak to some of the others or curse under her breath if the wind became too harsh, but otherwise the Elezen remained silent. 

Judging from the light, it was late afternoon before they landed. The impact was more jarring than he would have liked, though he figured it was from the lack of riding anything straddled as he had been for the past several bells. Carine was the first to drop down, the crunching under her boots suggesting they were somewhere rocky. It was difficult to discern where she might have taken him through the blindfold, not that it would help lead anyone here to find him anyway. They had been careful enough to keep that bit of information to themselves.

“Careful now,” Carine said as she grabbed his hands and guided him down. As much as she tried to help him, there was only so much compensating she could do for the limp-legged Garlean that stumbled to his knees. 

He groaned as he felt jagged rocks rip his breeches and hissed as she helped him to his feet, “You didn’t have to drop me!”

“Watch it, Three-eyes. I told you to be careful, didn’t I? Not my fault you can’t ride a griffin properly.”

A griffin? This bloody mad-woman rode a griffin? He supposed that said a lot about her, none of which he liked. “Can we take this off now? Keep me tied if you wish, but I’d like to watch where I put my feet.”

“Aw, do you not trust me to guide you safely?” he could practically hear the smirk on her lips. 

“No.”

She chuckled and grabbed at his arm dragging him along beside her. “At least the feeling is mutual.”

Cid decided that if there was anyone he wouldn’t mind seeing killed, it would be this damned Elezen.

Luckily they didn’t have far to walk. Carine lead him up a couple steps and through some doors into a warm building. The rich aroma of cooking meat with hints of freshly baked bread filled the air and made his stomach rumble loudly. It had been nearly a day since his last meal, he realized as he was pushed down onto a stool. Fingers pulled at the tie keeping his blindfold in place and soon the cloth dropped away to reveal what looked like some tavern. Where this tavern was located, he couldn’t quite say off the top of his head, but there were more people milling about here than he would have expected of a place she would have taken him. 

“Hungry?”

Cid glowered at her in distrust. As hungry as he was, taking food from Eorzeans was one of the biggest mistakes a Garlean could make. Judging from his surroundings, he was outnumbered by a fair share of what looked like seasoned adventurers. It wasn’t a risk he was willing to take. 

“No.”

Carine shrugged and waved over one of the waitresses, “Suit yourself. I’m starved  _ and _ parched.”

She was relaxed here, completely at ease, which meant that wherever here was there was little to no Garlean presence. That narrowed it down considerably given the expanse of the Empire’s grip. Few places held little worth to the Garleans and it took a fair amount of resources to see them properly patrolled. One such place was Mor Dhona.

The frontier land was not a two days journey from the Black Shroud, but it was a better clue to where he was going than before. It shared a direct border with Thanalan, and with Coerthas, but they had been closer to that frozen wasteland back in the eastern part of the Shroud. Thanalan was also one of the few territories that was further from the reach of the Empire, not that it made any difference. There was still a strong Garlean presence there, especially in the northern region where it was rich with ceruleum.

“Can you tell me where you’re taking me now?” Cid asked as Carine grinned down at her over-large plate of food.

“Somewhere even your best trackers can’t find you.”

He rolled his eyes, “Somehow I highly doubt that.”

Unbothered, the Elezen continued eating her food and washing it down with wine making him more hungry with every bite. He shifted trying to will his stomach to ignore the food, but it rumbled loudly in protest. Occasionally she would look up at him and take a bite out of the steak she had on her plate letting the juices dribble down her chin in the most unlady-like fashion, all while moaning and smacking her lips in satisfaction.

Could he hate her any more?

Just as the last of his resolve crumbled, another figure joined their table. Cid startled at the sight of the Au’Ra and winced at the burning of his mark as she propped her giant axe against the wall behind her and took a seat. 

“Is it really that good?” Dainty asked Carine with a raised brow. 

“Mhmm. Want to try?” She pushed her plate over to her letting the woman pick what she wanted off it and pop it in her mouth. 

Her eyes closed and a satisfied smile lifted the corners of her lips as she chewed the bite. Cid swallowed, unintentionally captivated by the way her jaw worked until she swallowed and licked her lips. When she opened her eyes, they met his in a moment that stretched to near eternity before he turned away with a blush. What in Seven Hells was getting into him? Pretty though she may be, that was no reason to stare at her so boldly.

“Carine? Did you not offer any to him?” Dainty turned her attention to the woman beside her, voice scolding.

“I asked him if he was hungry and he said no,” she replied with a huff and popped another piece of meat into her mouth. “And you know I don’t just share my food with anyone, let alone a bloody tinhead.”

“I have a name, you know,” Cid growled in warning. Every time she opened her mouth he wanted to shove it full of the popotos on her plate until no other sound could come out.

“And I don’t care.”

Dainty ignored her and turned back to him with a tilt of her head. “‘Fraid we are going to poison you, is that it?” she asked. 

“Nothing to prove you won’t or wouldn’t,” he said. “Too many of my countrymen have died thanks to the ‘hospitality’ shown by your kind. I’d rather not add to that number.”

“You know, if we wanted to kill you, we could have several times over by now,” Dainty pointed out as she leaned back in her seat. “Let’s see, Carine could have let that Elemental find you like it did all your mates, she could have sliced your throat. I could have cleaved you in half while you took a piss...need I go on?”

Okay, so she had a point, but that didn’t make it any easier to trust the remaining food that had been on Carine’s plate as it was pushed toward him despite her pouting and protests. The desire to eat was too strong however, and reluctantly he lifted his bound hands towards the Au’Ra. “I’ll need these to eat, won’t I? Or do you intend to diminish my dignity further by hand feeding me?”

“Oh that’s tempting,” Carine grinned from across the table. Dainty said nothing as she pulled a blade from Carine’s boot and cut the chafing fabric. This didn’t please the Elezen as she took back her dagger and glared, “Sometimes you’re no fun.”

“And sometimes you let your mouth get ahead of you,” said Dainty pointedly. “Don’t forget we need him.”

Their bickering was cast aside as Cid rubbed his raw wrists and looked at the half eaten plate of food. As much as he would like to order his own fresh serving, he couldn’t trust the others in this tavern not to tamper with it. At least he knew this was safe. 

Dainty ordered a bottle of wine and the two women chatted idly while he finished off the plate of food. He listened in from time to time picking up on whenever they mentioned Garleans or wherever they were going, but ultimately they revealed naught to him. It was as frustrating as it was admirable. He didn’t know an entire legion of well trained Garlean soldiers that wouldn’t drop telling hints by now. What he did know, he had been  _ allowed _ to know and therefore that kept him from being a threat.

When they were finished, they led him deeper into the tavern and toward a closet door. It was so small and insignificant, placed in the most inconvenient corner, yet that didn’t stop Dainty from opening it up. Just as he had suspected, it was nothing more than a broom and mop closet that smelled of mildew and mold. His nose wrinkled in disgust as the tiny woman poked her head in and looked this way and that before stepping to the side and motioning for him to go in. 

“I am  _ not _ going in there,” he locked his legs and shook his head. 

“You don’t have much of a choice, do you?” Carine whispered from behind him, the press of one of her blades to his back confirming the statement.

“So your grand plan is to lock me in a bloody closet? Are you daft enough to think that if Garleans come through they won’t wonder why two armed women are sitting out front of an insignificant closet?”

Dainty didn’t even look behind her as she walked in, the darkness swallowing her diminutive form whole. He hadn’t quite thought it was big enough for one person, let alone two, but if he had to be cramped in there between these two, he would much rather it be her than Carine. That didn’t stop the damned Elezen from shoving him in there after her and following close behind. 

He was prepared to run straight into the Au’Ra and instinctively put his hands out to stop him from getting too close and personal with her, but he was surprised to find there was nothing there at all. Cid opened his eyes and looked around in bewilderment, surprised to find that he was no longer in a dark, dusty corner of a tavern, but in a well lit stairwell that seemed to lead somewhere below the building. 

Dainty stood at the base of the stairs, her strange eyes twinkling in amusement as she giggled past him to Carine who was also chuckling. His face twisted into another frown, an expression he seemed to be wearing a lot as of late, and turned to scowl at the woman behind him. “You could have just told me it was glamoured.”

“And kept my friend from watching you stumble through with your eyes closed and arms out in front of you? No way!” Carine grinned back.

Cid wondered how they managed to get a glamour prism to work in such a fascinating way, or even who might have thought of it. In fact, it was downright genius the more he considered it. There was no way to trace these prisms because their aether was indistinguishable from the aether that filled the air which meant if anyone with knowledge on them could use them this way. This only beggared the question, how many people in Eorzea knew how to make these prisms work like this and how many places had implemented this system? 

They continued down the stairs into a sort of welcoming room with lanterns sitting upon round, wooden tables, and a few lights hanging low overhead. People talked in hushed whispers as they passed, a few of them lifting their gazes to stare at the captive Garlean in accusation and hatred. Cid kept his eyes ahead choosing to watch the swish of Dainty’s tail until they were brought to a counter where a white haired Miqo’te smiled generously at them. 

“Ah there you are! Minfilia just asked of you not even half a bell ago. I take it the mission was successful?” she glanced at Cid.

“Aye, it was. Just need a bed for tonight and a few extra eyes open. We’ll be leaving first thing tomorrow,” Dainty replied. 

“While you get all that set up, I’ll report to the boss and let her know what we know so far,” Carine smiled. “F’lhaminn, would you happen to know if Riol is around by chance?”

The Miqo’te held her chin, cat ears flicking as she thought about it and then nodded at once. “I think he made mention of heading towards Camp Bronze Lake earlier today.”

“Well, shit. Thanks anyway,” Carine mumbled and stalked past them to another set of double doors. 

Dainty chuckled as she watched her friend depart and as much as Cid hated the situation he was in, he couldn’t help but enjoy the sound. His mark throbbed painfully, but it was bothering him enough now it was becoming easy to ignore...to an extent. The longer he was around the slight woman, the more it seemed to ache. He thought it had been the density of the aether in the Twelveswood causing the pain somehow, not that he could begin to explain exactly  _ how _ that could have been. Now it seemed as if the pain was directly related to the woman herself as he followed diligently behind her to the room that would be his cell for the night.

It was smaller than he had expected and somehow had enough room to fit two small beds on opposite walls. There was just enough space between them to walk between. Wall lamps lit the room, fueled by aether and casting a warm glow over the off-white sheets. 

Dainty wasted no time shoving her axe under the bed and flopping onto the one of her choice while he stood there unsure of what he was supposed to do. Was he to take the other bed? Was she really going to sleep right there with him in the room? With a  _ weapon _ just in arms reach? 

Judging by the deep, even breaths now coming from her, he supposed that was exactly what she was aiming to do.

Cid sat on the edge of the other bed and contemplated long and hard about reaching for the axe he could see peeking out at him. Tempting as it was, he knew he wouldn’t make it out the door before the entire place came down upon him like hornets in a hive. She knew that, Carine knew that, it’s why they were so comfortable here and it pissed him off to no end. 

He had to figure out a way to leave any rescue party looking for him a clue, he thought as he leaned back on the bed and rested his eyes. His mind continued to come up with blanks until sleep finally claimed him.


	4. Chapter 4

Nero rested his hands on his hips and looked over the wreckage before him with a disappointed shake of his head. The sun was already heating the dense foliage that surrounded the crash site making the air thick and humid and on the verge of being unbearable. Already sweat was beading his brow from under his helm, prompting the Garlean to remove it for the faintest chance a breeze might relieve him. He had no such luck, however, as it seemed the trees prevented any sort of wind from blowing between them. 

Soldiers from his unit scavenged the site for any possible clues or hints as to what could have happened. Despite the fact Gaius seemed sure this crash was caused by foul play, Nero was not so quick to agree. It was difficult to fell a Garlean airship from the sky even with the use of their own magitek cannons, so the very idea that Eorzeans had the resources to create this sort of catastrophe was laughable at best. He was more inclined to believe there had been a fault in the system. It wasn’t entirely implausible considering it wasn’t of  _ his _ design. 

The problem was, no matter the diagnostics he ran on the ship, everything came back in perfect working order. A few systems had gone offline, but it was nothing he couldn’t work around to try and find the cause that had led to the crash. Much to his surprise, once he had been able to access the mainframe he found that one of the main jet engines had been compromised prior to the fall. 

Nero went to the jet engine in question and began scouring the component with the careful eye for detail his soldiers lacked. Garlean jets rarely malfunctioned and if they did, it usually was a lesser engine that helped to support the main system. Almost all of the smaller engines could go out and the airship would still be able to travel over the entire continent with little trouble. 

In his search through the compression chamber, he caught sight of something he had not expected. Small as it was and warped beyond recognition, he picked up the tangled metal and turned it over in his hands until a clear shape revealed the original design of the foreign object. Nero frowned and pricked his finger against the sharp point of the arrowhead. He brought his fingers to his nose and sniffed, his brows rising in surprise at the pungent smell of crude oil. 

So Gaius had been right after all. Someone wanted this ship to come down and somehow knew enough of how their jet engines worked to not only shoot an arrow into the system itself but to coat it in oil so the combustion chamber might ignite it and blow it to smithereens. The only thing more impressive than someone who wasn’t a Garlean engineer knowing this information was that whoever it was could aim an arrow in the dead of night and manage to hit this mark.

Maybe these Scions were a bigger threat than he originally gave them credit for. 

“Send this back to Ala Mhigo for testing,” he ordered one of the soldiers. “I want to know who crafted this weapon, where they got the materials and who they sold it to.”

It was a long shot. The Eorzeans were a fickle bunch that couldn’t appreciate that Gaius and the Empire were making life so much easier for them, so chances of someone coming forward and claiming such craftsmanship were slim. Still, the Legatus was not one to pass on the opportunity to learn anything more about the organization that threatened to unseat him from his position as viceroy in Ala Mhigo and Nero liked his own position as his right-hand man too much to risk leaving one stone unturned. 

With the cause of the crash determined to the best of his ability, Nero turned his attention to the tracks. Two local Wildwood Elezen lead the way pointing out the boot prints left in the dirt or on bent grass until they came to a stop. They pointed out a few other tracks from the native wildlife explaining how it was most unusual they would stampede at any part of the day, much less the dead of night when most of them would have been bedded down. 

“What sort of predators do you have in these woods?” he interrupted their explanation with a question of his own. 

“None that would cause this disturbance,” one of them replied, nervously looking to his companion. “The vultures might be a bit aggressive and the gnats are a nuisance, but neither of them would frighten enough creatures to do this.”

Nero frowned as he stood up and continued walking. It was clear the small unit had done well to protect themselves as dead antelope and gnats and other beasts scattered the ground. As much as he would have  _ loved _ to have caught them lying about predators, he couldn’t imagine anything leaving these beasts to rot without indulging themselves. As it were, they had remained almost entirely untouched. Strange indeed.

The scouts moved ahead of him, their trained eyes picking up on where each set of tracks abruptly ended and marking them so the Garlean could examine. There were few things that stumped Nero tol Scaeva, but even he struggled with comprehending how someone who was in a full run to just stop. No sign of slowing down, no sign of tripping or falling, not even a sign of a sudden change of direction gave him any clues as to where they might have gone. The tracks just simply stopped. 

He could hear the two scouts he hired bickering heatedly amongst each other and for a time he was able to ignore it in favor of investigating the missing soldiers and one Cid nan Garlond. His patience began to wear thin, however, the longer it went on. One of them was clearly nervous. His hands fidgeted and he jumped at every movement in the bushes. The other was doing his best to calm his companion, his eyes warily looking over at the Garleans supervising them. 

“Is there a problem?” He dusted his gloves against his legs and raised a brow in their direction. 

“N-no my lord. No problem.” His hesitation beggared disbelief.

“Your friend appears to think there is one,” Nero turned to the one cowering behind the other, whose face was downcast towards the dirt as if it might save him from being under his scrutiny. “You seem to have an idea as to what might have caused this, yes? Might as well save us all the trouble and tell us.”

He winced at the sound of Nero’s voice and dropped to one knee in reverence. As much as Nero appreciated the act of submission, it did nothing but hamper their progress. If Cid was indeed taken by whoever dropped the airship, they were wasting precious daylight in recovering him before who knew what would happen to him. Brilliant a man as Garlond was, he was an engineer first and a soldier last.

“Elementals, my lord,” the man finally squeaked. 

Nero stopped what he was doing and looked harder at the man, not quite sure if he had heard him correctly. “Repeat that?”

“Elementals did this...or at least one,” the Wildwood stuttered. “It’s the only thing that makes any sense…”

Nero considered this with narrowed eyes. It was clear the man believed it could have been the beings he read about before he had been sent to serve Gaius in Ala Mhigo, he was positively beside himself. The problem with his assumption was that the Elementals perished in the wake of the Dalamud’s fall. There was little doubt in his mind that Elementals had thrived in the Twelveswood not long ago, it was rife with aether compared to other regions, but they had neither been seen or heard from since the Garleans began to occupy Eorzea. 

“Do you  _ really _ think me so gullible?” he growled while pulling his gunblade from his back and aiming it at the man. If the Elementals were still a threat to be reckoned with, the Garleans surely would have felt the brunt of their power by now with all the damage that had been done to the Shroud. Alas, there were soldiers patrolling the forest and bandits and poachers camping through the trees and not a one had felt the Greenwrath.

The man jerked back, eyes wide and mouth popping open in complete surprise. “I-I tell you true! ‘Tis the only thing that could have done this!”

But Nero would hear none of it as his finger hugged the trigger. The lifeless form of the less than useless scout dropped to the ground with a soft thud as the shot rang loud and clear through the wood, but Nero was already holstering his weapon and turning back to the trail. The other scout had exclaimed in surprise, but when ordered to leave his fallen companion behind, he did so without hesitation. 

Such was the power of perseverance. 

The moment he arrived at the abandoned outpost, he was shown the prints made by two distinct Chocobos. The Garlean didn’t have to be a tracker to know that one was considerably larger than the other, made to carry two or more people comfortably without tiring. 

“We followed the tracks for as long as we could, but they both lead to water and disappeared,” a soldier informed him. “The guards at two different docks were murdered and left to rot.”

The more he learned, the more Nero realized this group had to be highly trained. To pull something like this off would have taken months to prepare for, but it would have been impossible to know who was on that airship. Unless... 

Nero crossed his arms and drummed his fingers. There was always the chance they had someone on the inside. It wasn’t improbable, the Garleans had far more enemies than allies, and the Eorzeans were the biggest fighters of them all. Question was, who was their contact and how much did they know about the inner workings of the Empire?

He stopped short at some clumps of grass ripped up from the ground and grinned to himself. Though difficult to discern what had created these marks, it was clear that they weren’t made by any horse-bird. Now this was positively  _ delightful. _ Not only was the great Cid nan Garlond captured by rebels and stolen away right from under their noses, but he had been captured by what appeared to be a worthy opponent. Should Nero be able to rescue the beloved Minister of Industry, there would surely be a grand event held in his honor not to mention all the favors Garlond would owe him. 

Gaius could worry all he wanted, this was absolutely  _ riveting _ for Nero tol Scaeva.

A commotion in the cabin claimed his wandering attention. He turned to see what may have been found only for more clues to be dropped in his lap. 

Well...sort of.

At first his eyes weren’t so sure what they were seeing. There were scratches over the planks of wood on the floor and wall and on boxes. Had they not been fresh, he would have never paid them any mind and continued on his way, but then a few recognizable symbols caught his attention. Upon further inspection, it seemed as if someone had tried to write a warning in High Garlean...until Nero recognized the messy scrawl of his childhood rival. 

He grinned widely and dropped to one knee to get a closer look. It was difficult to read, and not just because it was Garlond’s messy script, but because someone had clearly found it and tried to erase it as best they could. He could only make out a few words here and there, something about flying and two women and four days, or was it four women and two days? It was too difficult to tell. Of course, only an idiot like Garlond would attempt to leave a message in plain sight.

And then he saw the word  _ Elemental _ scratched into one of the boxes making him pause. Daft as he might be, Garlond was not one to leave a false trail or believe in things that simply did not exist, but something had made him write that down. He had also etched something about flying, though when or to where he couldn’t tell thanks to the heavy marks covering the message. 

That’s when it clicked and Nero stood up to go back to the clods of dirt and grass he had stopped at earlier. Before, he had thought nothing of them save maybe a scuffle that had happened. Now, he wasn’t so sure. With careful eyes he scanned the ground until it fell upon a single large griffin feather caught in a nearby bush. 

Again he grinned as he looked towards the treetops. “Clever rebels you are,” he said to himself. “Clever indeed.”

***

  
  


Dainty woke long before the Garlean prisoner thanks to the constant burning on her thigh. The damn thing hadn’t seemed to stop since they had been in the Shroud and only seemed to get angrier the longer she was around him. No matter how much she scratched at it, no matter what magic she permitted herself to try and heal the constant irritation, it refused to let up.

She knew it might be best to talk to Carine and see if she had experienced any troubles or abnormalities with her own mark, but the Elezen was not one to remain quiet on such things. If her mark was burning half as much as Dainty’s, she would have let it be well known before now. 

She sat on the edge of her bed and looked over at the sleeping Garlean. What was it about him that captivated her so? He was handsome, there was no denying that. Broad and muscular, large enough that if he chose to wrap his arms around her she would be completely enveloped. Despite his frame, the Au’Ra knew he was no soldier, not like others she had to dispose of to get this far without being tracked. Strong and tall as he was, he was also the only Garlean she had noticed to sport a full beard. That, and he hadn’t been wearing a lick of armor when they found him there in that hut.

But he was clever. Had intuition not led her back to that hut and to look at what she had thought had been idle drawings, she might not have been so lucky to get this far. Or Lyse. Or Y’shtola. Dainty knew nothing of High Garlean, but she had recognized the symbols from her time pirating Garlean ships back in La Noscea. Careful as they had been to hide crucial information from the man, he still managed to pick up on enough to try and leave a trail. 

No doubt any search party would stumble across the fresh etching in the wood and her attempt to scribble it out, but she would be damned if they would be able to pick up on anything of importance.

The mark burned again and her jaw clenched in response. She knew it was important and she had accepted what it meant for her and her fate once the Scions had found her and explained its meaning. That didn’t mean she enjoyed this new sensation it seemed keen on making her suffer through. Wasn’t it enough to know there was someone else out there with the other half to her whole?

Sleep wasn’t coming easily to her now so she decided to head back into the main hall of the Rising Stones to see who might still be up and what word there might be of the others. Lyse and Y’shtola had gone awfully quiet and she couldn’t help but hope all was well with them. The Scions were so close to finding all twelve soulmates, it wouldn’t do to lose an already bonded pair. 

She was surprised to see Carine still wide awake and plucking at the strings of her harp there in the empty hall. The Elezen was often caught humming a gentle tune wherever she sat bringing comfort to those the Scions had saved from the relentless grip of the Garleans. Quick of tongue and sharp of wit as she was, she was good company when one needed their spirits lifted and an excellent companion in a fight. 

Carine stopped mid-song upon seeing Dainty enter the room and smiled generously at her...but only for a moment as she glanced behind the Au’Ra and at her again. “Where’s the tinhead?”

“Sleeping,” she replied with a yawn.

“And your axe?”

“Under the bed.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! Let’s just  _ arm the prisoner!” _ Carine scolded with narrowed eyes. “Are you mad?”

Dainty just shrugged, “Do you really think him such a threat? He’s made no move to harm us so far.”

“Only because I put the fear of the Twelve in him.”

A chuckle escaped her lips as she took a seat from across her. “I’m sure the fact he is surrounded by enemies has nothing to do with it.”

The glare on Carine’s face soon melted into a broad smile, her eyes dropping to her hands before fading. For a moment, Dainty wondered if she felt the faint pangs of discomfort radiating from the mark there on her wrist, but the Elezen said nothing as she looked up and sighed. “I just hope I caught a decent one. The last few weren’t worth a damn.”

For months, the two of them had been tasked with fellow Scions to hunt down Garleans that might be able to help them understand what had been found in the depths of the Wanderer’s Palace. The routine had been the same, find small troops and isolate them and take those they were able to subdue to the relic to have them figure out how it worked. Every Garlean they found had been less than useless and had turned into more of a burden than a blessing as their prison cells were bursting with them.

“What did Minfilia say when you told her what happened?” Dainty changed the subject. 

“We go on as planned. I take him to the Palace tomorrow and see if he’s worth the salt he claims he is.”

“And of the Elemental?”

It did not go unnoticed the way the Elezen paled at the memory. Even Dainty was not fond of what she had witnessed last night in the Shroud. It was no wonder Carine had chosen to leave her life as a Wood Wailer behind and take up arms with the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. She, out of all of them, knew what the beings were capable of, having lived in the Twelveswood her entire life. 

“She fears as I do, though we must wait for Urianger and Papalymo to return from the field to confirm my suspicions,” Carine sighed. 

She was worried, and not just because they had witnessed a corrupted Elemental first hand, but because of what it meant for her family back home. Dainty reached out to her, taking her hand to provide the only comfort she knew how to give. “Your mother and sister will be fine.”

“Sometimes I’m not so sure, especially right now,” she admitted as she squeezed her hand back. “But thank you.”

They sat there in silence for a little while, just holding hands and retreating to their own thoughts. Both knew the longer it took them to find someone that could understand the mechanic of the relic they had found meant the worse things would get in the Black Shroud as well as the rest of Eorzea. Already the people that had once lived in harmony with the forest had been forced to retreat closer to the city itself for safety. The corrupted sprites had done much to drive out the outliers as there were no longer enough conjurers or white mages to purify the land. That corruption spread to the beasts driving them mad and sending them on dangerous rampages that used to be unheard of. 

As badly as they wanted to drive the bloody Garleans out of Eorzea once and for all, they wanted to purify the corruption first to save the world from another Calamity. 

As Dainty thought, she idly scratched at her mark. 

“Has it been bothering you much lately?” Carine asked nodding towards the hand at her thigh. 

“Nothing I cannot manage.”

“If something is changing with it, you should let Minfilia know or at least Y’shtola,” she offered.

“Nothing’s changed. It simply itches,” she replied. Dainty could see that Carine wanted to press further, but ultimately the Elezen just shook her head and backed off. In all their missions together she had finally learned that pushing the issue would get her nowhere save maybe a cold shoulder for several days. “What time will you be leaving in the morning?”

“Right before first light so long as our three-eyed prisoner is an early riser,” Carine answered going along with the abrupt change without debate. 

“You might try being a little nicer to him,” she said without thinking. Her brow pinched with confusion as to where that thought even came from. How Carine handled their prisoners was her own and she was damn good at making them follow directions, good enough Dainty had never thought to comment on it before. 

The raised brows that met hers only confirmed that she was equally as surprised and conflicted on how to respond. They were partners on the field who had to trust each other’s judgment, after all. 

“If you think so…” Carine trailed off as she tapped her fingers against the table. “I suppose I could try it your way. Don’t blame me if this all goes to the Seven Hells though.”

Eventually they parted ways, but Dainty felt none the better for her late night stroll than she did before she left the room. As she crawled back into her bed and looked over at the still sleeping form of the Garlean prisoner, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Why? She didn’t know. 

There was just something about him.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day of flight was easier for Cid and thankfully much quieter. Like the day before, Carine had taken precautions to shield his eyes from seeing exactly where they had stopped for the night and to keep him from seeing where they were going, but she was gentler somehow. He had hoped that today he would have been paired with the stoic Au’Ra to avoid the abuse the Elezen seemed to enjoy putting him through, but from what he had overheard of their conversation at breakfast, she would be going the same place they were. 

There was no reason for him to hold any interest in the woman, yet he couldn’t help but be captivated by her any time she entered a room. The mark on his skin only amplified that by burning and alerting him to her presence right before she arrived. Upon seeing it this morning, it hadn’t seemed to change much. The thick, black lines weren’t even red or irritated as he imagined they would have been with all the itching and burning they seemed to be going through lately. The only thing he could think to attribute it to was some sort of magic they were using that affected him. 

Just like the day before, Cid spent most of his time high in the sky with Carine’s arms at his sides guiding them toward their destination. The further they flew, the more the griffin beneath them soared, no longer relying on the constant flapping of its wings to keep them aloft. It grew more windy as the day dragged on until he was sure there were no hills or mountains to break the wind. 

“Are we over the sea?” he asked as the faintest hint of briny water caught his attention. 

“Observant, I see,” Carine smirked. “Aye.”

“So we’re heading to La Noscea.”

Her refusal to acknowledge his statement was confirmation enough, though he could hardly understand what they would be taking him there for. Garleans patrolled the coastal lands by the droves thanks to the excellent trade system with the Far East. If anything, he would have assumed their base was back in that tavern in Mor Dhona, or at the very least in Coerthas where there were fewer Garlean forces to enforce the law. To be this close to a city-state bordering Garlean stronghold seemed a high risk.

Unless her aim was to get them on a ship and head out to sea. In which case, if they thought the Far East was safer than Eorzea from the grip of the Empire, they were wrong.

By the time they began their descent, Cid could tell his arms and face were burnt from the constant sunlight he had been exposed to. It was probably another tactic to make him miserable so that he might give them the answers they sought, but they would have to do better than that. He might not be a soldier by nature, but he had been trained by one of the best generals the Empire had to offer and thus he could take a great deal of pain before he broke.

If he broke at all. 

The landing this time was much more gentle and far less jarring. Carine had even cut his bindings on his hands so he might better steady himself as he dismounted from the griffin and put his feet back on solid ground. 

There was no denying he was in La Noscea, even with his eyes still covered by the blindfold. Gulls cawed in the air, water lapped at a nearby shore, the breeze brought to him the smell of salt and fish. It must have been a recognizable location, he surmised, judging by the fact the Elezen kept his mask on him as she guided him over uneven stone. 

“Watch your step,” she warned just as he nearly tripped going up stairs. If it weren’t for her being so harsh to him in days prior, he might have thanked her for the warning. As it were, he didn’t wish to give her the satisfaction of hearing his gratitude.

Cid was unsure of how long they walked or how many turns they had made before he no longer felt the heat of the sun’s rays upon his skin. A door closed behind him and soon Carine’s fingers were working on the knot behind his head until the blindfold fell. 

He hadn’t the foggiest clue where she had taken him as he had never seen nor heard anything like this being in Eorzea. Clearly, from the poor state of the stone walls, they had holed up in some ruins. Cid wasn’t much of a history connoisseur, his talents were with engineering magitek, so the age and time from which this place was built was beyond his realm of knowledge. What he hadn’t expected however, were the bits of wall that were broken down to reveal cogs as if they belonged to a machine. 

“Follow me and try to keep up,” Carine said leaving him behind without a backwards glance. He watched the tall Elezen walk away, her long silver-white hair swinging in its braid, before he decided it was in his best interest to do as she said.

Water flowed through irrigation systems on either side of the path they walked. Cid had to practically jog to keep up with the longer strides of the woman he was following despite them being damn near the same height. Greenery grew in the cracks that shed a faint light in corners of the castle, if that was what it was, but the main source of light came from lanterns on the wall or elegant chandeliers that hung overhead. 

“Where am I?” his voice carried reverently as they entered yet another large room with water wheels churning the water in the irrigation system. It seemed almost a control room of sorts, at least when it came to fresh water. 

“Welcome to the Wanderer’s Palace,” Carine replied cheerfully ahead of him. He stared at her in shock for several breaths, surprised that she was finally so forthcoming with their whereabouts until reality struck home.

If she were comfortable with him knowing where he was, she knew there was no way he was returning to his homeland. 

“The Wanderer’s Palace, you say? As in the fallen city of Nym?” Cid jogged to catch up while trying his damnedest to forget the sting in his chest at the thought of never returning to doing everything he loved. “You chose to set up base  _ here?” _

It made little sense to him. The Garleans sent routine patrols through the ruins to weed out rebels that might go into hiding. Up until now, he had respected their dedication to keeping this location a secret, but now he was beginning to question their sanity.

“Oh don’t you worry. We have our ways of staying under the Emperor’s radar,” she looked back and winked at him. “Upside to you tinheads, if it doesn’t suit your goals or pursuit of power, you toss it aside like garbage.”

He didn’t have time to question her further as they passed by people manning the water wheels and looking over charts and lists. Cid could feel their hateful glares on his back as much as he could feel the rub of his shirt against the sunburn on his neck. Up some more stairs and a few more turns later and they had arrived to what appeared to be a large, circular room. Cid peered over the edge of the stairs and immediately recognized the forms of Lyse and Y’shtola standing and talking amongst an Elezen and Lalafell he did not know. A few others milled about in their own circles, his eyes glancing over each one until they fell upon the lone Au’Ra speaking to a Hyur. 

It was easy now to ignore the burn in his chest as he stared at her from across the room entranced by the movement of her lips. She had replaced the armor from the day before with a fine silk dress trimmed in gold. Her minty hair was pulled away from her eyes, its length hanging in perfect minty curls down her back. 

As if she could feel his gaze, Dainty turned and locked eyes with his. He was petrified, unable to move in the fact that he had been caught blatantly staring at her like some stupid teenage boy. Cid couldn’t fathom what had come over him as his wits finally returned and he looked to the woman she had been talking to. 

And that was when he saw their hands clasped together. 

_ I am the biggest idiot I think I have ever known, _ he grumbled to himself as he reluctantly followed Carine to the pair.  _ And I have worked with Nero. _

“Sorry it took so long. Had to avoid a few airships,” the Elezen announced, voice high and chipper. 

“Glad am I you finally made it,” the Hyur smiled and released Dainty’s hand in favor of fully turning to them. “I take it this is the engineer you found?”

_ More like forced here against my will, _ Cid silently corrected her as he looked into her blue eyes. “Cid nan Garlond, Tribunus Laticlavius to Gaius van Baelsar and Minister of Industry for the Garlean Empire,” he announced. 

The blonde blinked in surprise, her smiling face suddenly looking stricken as she looked past him to Carine. “You brought us the  _ Minister of Industry?” _

“Look, I said I was good when I joined up with you Scions, but I am not a damn miracle worker. How in Seven Hells would I have known that airship had a fucking important person on board?” Carine stepped back and shook her head. 

The Hyur held her chin in her hands and looked worriedly down at the ground. “This complicates matters a great deal. The Empire likely won’t let his disappearance go without repercussions.”

“Well I can’t return him now. I just told him where we are.”

It was slightly satisfying to see his title evoke such strong feelings in his captors. Even the ever stoic Au’Ra seemed surprised at who he was and his rank of importance, but only just. The moment he had returned his attention to her, she had gone back to the same curious look she always seemed to throw his way when they were near each other. 

“Be that as it may, we have him here now and should use him,” the blonde smiled. “I am Minfilia, the Antecedent of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Garlond.”

Now it was his turn to be surprised. Long had the leader of this rebel organization eluded the great Gaius van Baelsar, yet here she was standing before him with a gentle smile and kind eyes. The very prize he had just within his grasp were he not their prisoner would please his Legatus infinitely...or at least until the next rebel group joined to fight against him. 

“Perhaps you can explain why I have been brought here.” Cid crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Carine who still seemed impressed by her catch. 

“I would be most happy to,” Minfilia smiled and stepped aside to motion towards a desk and some chairs. “Would you like anything to eat or drink? I could have Carine fetch some fresh water for you?”

The Elezen opened her mouth to protest, but Cid was already grinning. A chance to have her serve him while he could get comfortable with the antecedent without the threat of her daggers at his back? There was no way he wasn’t passing that up. “That sounds refreshing. Yes please.”

He could feel her glower at him without ever having to look. Her boots tapped against the stone until they faded in the distance leaving him alone in this corner with Minfilia and Dainty. 

“Dainty tells me you barely escaped the Twelveswood with your life. I am sorry you lost men to the Greenwrath,” she began, her voice gentle and sincere. 

“I don’t imagine you are too sorry. That’s six less Garleans you have to worry about,” he shot back. In truth, the guilt of having left them behind to save his own hide ate at his spine and sickened his gut. His sleep had been fitful and full of dreams of hearing their cries cut short or watching them turn to ash in his very hands. Logically he knew there was nothing he could have done to save them, or anything they could have done to save themselves, but it didn’t help the feeling that he should have done  _ more. _

“We have both lost many people to the war,” Minfilia dropped her gaze. “It is not our intention to cause more harm.”

“Then why rebel against the Empire? Can you not appreciate what we have tried to share with you?” Cid asked. “Yet you fight us every step of the way. We try to make more efficient transportation and you Eorzeans blow it up. We try to increase trade, feed your poor, rid you of the beastmen that summon their primals and for what?”

She allowed him to vent his frustration without interruption. Both she and Dainty sat quietly, their eyes focused on him with an intensity that let him know they were not only listening, but taking his grievances to heart. When he was done, he leaned back in the chair and scratched at his chest, the mark burning again only added to his sour mood.

“I could argue that the Empire came here to take over and rid us of our rights. We have been banned and punished for using magic, some even killed for doing something that comes as naturally to us as breathing, but our intentions are not to rise against the Garlean Empire,” Minfilia replied with a shake of her head. 

That stopped him cold and confused him in the same breath. The Scions had always been a thorn in Gaius’ side, one which he could not readily rid himself of because it seemed that every time he was on the verge of discovering their true location, he would reach a dead end. “With all due respect, antecedent, your actions speak louder than your words.”

“The actions for which you speak were never under my command. The people of Eorzea have heard our names whispered through the streets and it has given them hope. I fear that hope has led them on a dangerous path, one which we cannot steer them from without risking our own agenda.”

“Which is?” He was being bold. Very bold. At present however, he did not feel like a prisoner, but as an emissary of his people. It would do him well to glean as much information from them as he possibly could so that when he was finally found, he could update the Legatus on the situation. 

Minfilia stood up and paced along the front of her desk. Dainty watched her silently, eyes following each sway of her hips which only served to distract Cid more. “The Scions of the Seventh Dawn wish nothing more than to protect our realm from the threat of calamities. After the destruction wrought at Carteneau Flats, we promised to search for the signs and to find a way to stop another from destroying the world as we know it.”

Cid laughed. He couldn’t help himself. She was serious and to him, that was hilarious. It mattered not that they stared at him in disbelief as he slapped his knee and shook his head. Out of all the things he had envisioned being brought here for, stopping an impending Calamity was not among them. 

“You do realize that  _ centuries _ pass between Calamities, yes?” he informed them. “The Seventh was just under a decade ago. We won’t see another in our lifetime, rest assured.”

“Can you be so sure?” Minfilia glared at him. Apparently he had offended her, not that he cared. “Tell me, Master Garlond, what do you remember of your encounter with the Elemental in the Shroud?”

He gave her the benefit of the doubt and recounted everything he could remember, grim details and all. As much as he wished it didn’t upset him, there was nothing to stop the wave of unease that curdled his stomach at the memory of his comrades disappearing into nothingness without a trace of them left behind. 

“Is that all?” Minfilia prodded and he shrugged. It wasn’t as though he had recorded the event, it was bad enough to reflect on it now. The Hyur turned to Dainty, “Tell me of the Elemental.”

Even she was not immune to the fear the being had inflicted upon them. Cid had not seen her initial reaction, but he had remembered the fear radiating from Carine as she saved his life by keeping him quiet and out of sight. 

“It glowed orange and flew erratically,” Dainty replied. “Like it had no real destination in mind until it saw the unit of Garleans.”

“Do you know what orange means for an Elemental?” Minfilia turned back to Cid as if she expected him to know the answer. 

He held up his hands and shook his head, “If you wanted someone who knew the ins and outs of Gridanian culture, you caught the wrong Garlean. I’m an engineer, no more, no less.”

“But you know the effects of corrupted aether, do you not?”

Cid frowned, his mind whirring with this change in subject. What did corrupted aether have to do with…

And then he felt all the color and life drain from his face. “Are you saying you believe the Elemental to be corrupted?”

That was a terrifying thought. From what he knew of them, they served only to protect the Twelveswood which they called home. The Gridanians were only allowed to live there because they had formed a peaceful coexistence with the beings and adhere to their will. They were not forgiving to those that were considered outsiders and white mages were in high demand to help cleanse and purify beings that might have incurred the Elemental’s wrath. 

Much to his displeasure, Minfilia nodded her affirmation of his fear. “While we have no solid evidence, our readings in the Black Shroud have given us enough reason to fear this is the case. How this has come to be, we still do not yet know. You and the women that captured you are the first to survive an encounter with this Elemental.”

“But what does one Elemental have to do with a Calamity?”

“Because your dumbasses stopped our mages from purifying the Twelveswood and  _ then _ you decided it was a good idea to destroy the trees for your castrums and kill the animals for sport,” Carine’s voice called out from behind him. 

“So this is our fault, is that what you’re saying?” As much as his training told him to never agree, Cid could not help but understand their plight. Even so, one Elemental was not enough to bring another end to an era. 

“That’s  _ exactly _ what I’m saying.”

“Despite her tone, we did not bring you here to accuse you of anything,” Minfilia gave the Elezen a warning stare. Carine just shrugged and handed Cid his cup of water and set the tray of colorful fruit and bread on the desk. “We brought you here because the only way we might survive is in an united effort.”

Cid shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “One Elemental cannot bring about a Calamity. If that were the case, humanity would have died out eons ago.”

“Do you know the story of the Sixth Calamity?” This time it was Dainty who spoke, the very sound of her voice making his mark throb. “The world flooded thanks to the wrath of the water Elementals. Mayhap this single one will not destroy us all, but what if others joined? We hardly have the white mages left to purify this one Elemental, but if there were more to form?”

“Of course I know of the Sixth Calamity, but it wasn’t the Elementals that wrought destruction from our teaching, it was the fact that none of the magic being used was water aspected,” Cid corrected them. 

Carine rolled her eyes as she leaned against the desk, “Does it matter? Regardless of exactly  _ what _ the cause was, Elementals were involved to an extent and the three most powerful nations in the world were decimated as a result. Not to mention that was just from normal pissed off Elementals that have their wits about them. Imagine a collective of corrupted Elementals making judgement calls.”

He still wasn’t convinced, but the picture she was painting was not pretty. If what they believed was true, that would not only cause problems for the Eorzeans, but for the Empire as well. And Cid knew from experience that Elementals could not be killed by conventional magitek weapons.

“Let’s say that what you infer is correct and more corrupted Elementals will spawn, how do you plan on killing them?”

“We hope not to,” Minfilia replied honestly. “They have their importance in this world just as we do. Killing them because we destroyed their home does not seem the answer. However, the reason we have chosen to come to this ancient city and reside within this ancient palace isn’t simply because it is a forgotten relic of the past, but because it might yet hold the key to our salvation.

“The Nymians were among the world’s leaders as scholars developing magic that worked in a different way than the purifying power of white magic or the destructive power of black. They knew a Calamity was on the horizon thanks to the war between their nation against Amdapor and Mhach and thus they were preparing to put a stop to it. Unfortunately, the Void mages unleashed a terrible blow against the city nearly blowing it up entirely. Not only did they release Ozma upon them, but they also brought what was known as the Green Death upon them as well turning the survivors of Ozma into Tonberries. Alas, they were unable to make their machine work in time to prevent the water from consuming all and such was the legacy of the War of the Magi.

“Until recently, the Wanderer’s Palace had been lost to the ages and became a place where treasure hunters and pirates would hide out. They killed the few surviving Tonberries, or what they missed your kind eradicated, and with them the knowledge of how this machine works. Had it not been for the unusual discovery made by Alrek and Reta’li, it would have likely remained empty for centuries to come without anyone knowing what was hidden inside.”

“And what do you believe is hidden here that we Garleans seemed to miss?”

Cid watched as Dainty stood to her feet and made her way through a door up the stairs opposite of the way they had come in. For a moment, he thought maybe the Au’Ra had grown bored of the conversation, not that he could blame her. History was not as interesting a subject as some made it out to be, and other than the Nymians having some sort of machine hidden away the Garleans had somehow missed, he already knew everything the antecedent had just told him.

But rather than disappear through the doors she simply stopped and turned to motion so they might follow. “It would be better to just show him, you think?” she quirked a brow in their direction. Neither of others disagreed and judging from the footsteps behind him, those that had not been in on their conversation were following as well. He figured it might be wise of him to remain on his best behavior. 

Through small hallways and tight turns the Garlean followed the Au’Ra. She seemed to know the passages by heart as she led them deeper into the palace. Water dripped from above them, the smell of fish growing stronger the deeper they went until Cid felt overwhelmed by the stench. He could hear Carine giggling behind him which made him really wish she would just slip on the wet cobbled stone just so she might go quiet. That woman was quickly becoming the bane of his existence. 

Eventually they began climbing stairs again and it wasn’t long until fresh air wafted through the tunnel giving him blessed relief. To his surprise, he had not been led to another large room, but rather an open field on a small island just off from the main island where the palace sat. 

_ So that’s how they get away before we can find them. I wonder just how many secret passages there are… _

Dainty continued walking ahead without turning around until she reached a small, circular platform. There was nothing left save the remnants of ruined columns to indicate anything of machinery, only wildflowers dancing in the sea breeze and rich green grass that looked soft to the touch. 

Cid’s curiosity got the best of him however, and the grass and flowers were easily forgotten as he approached the stone Dainty was looking at. Her expression revealed nothing as she met his inquisitive gaze, so he dropped down to a knee to get a closer look. There was absolutely nothing of note to the naked eye and being the engineer he was, there was a need to lift the stone and see what might be hidden beneath.

The moment he touched the stone however, a blinding, searing pain ripped from the mark on his chest causing him to cry out and pull his hand away in a hurry. His eyes crossed as he clenched his teeth, hand gripping at the fabric of his shirt over his heart. Somewhere behind him someone shouted, but he was too far gone to know who it might have been. Strong arms pulled him further from the stone and granted him precious relief. 

Sweat beaded his brow and his heart pounded heavily in his chest. His skin burned and eyes watered while he waited for his breath to return to him once again. Cid lay there flat against his back looking up at the clear blue sky until Carine’s face hovered over him. Without warning, she pulled a blade from wherever it was she kept those damn things hidden and brought it to where his hand clenched over his heart. Too weak to fight, he submitted to the swift death he knew was coming. Whatever he had done, he had fucked up and he knew it. There was no way he couldn’t have given the excruciating pain still tensing his muscles. 

But rather than stab him and end the suffering, she ripped at his shirt and gaped in open-mouthed surprise. Cid squinted at her, watching as she pulled off her gloves and looked down at her wrist frantically. Her eyes darted between the mark on his chest and her wrist over and over again until relief was finally made apparent.

“Oh thank you Blessed Nophica!” she cried out to the heavens. “And thank the rest of the Twelve for not having a cruel sense of humor!”

In her euphoria, the Elezen had apparently forgotten about helping him up, and he found it was Minfilia’s hands guiding him into a sitting position as she looked at him with concern. Like Carine, the Hyur looked at his chest and let out a soft exclamation that did nothing to explain what in Seven Hells had just happened. He pulled his arms away and struggled to his feet without the help of the less than useless Eorzeans and tried to pull the tattered remains of his shirt to cover the cursed mark that he was now convinced would be the death of him. 

Before he could lash out in anger or stalk away from Carine to lick his wounds, his eyes found Dainty. She stood still as a statue, her strangely colored eyes looking at him with an expression he could not place. They fell to his chest, just like everyone else’s, staring at the mark that seemed to somehow mean something to them all. Then, without a word, she turned to the side and pulled at the fabric of her dress until she had exposed her leg. 

Now Cid was not the type of man to ogle at a woman’s exposed thigh. Soldier and engineer he might have been, he had always respected a woman regardless of rank and position. His immediate thought was to look away and preserve her modesty, but it was what she was revealing to him that had turned his bones to stone and his blood to ice.

On her pale thigh was a mark with thick, bold lines that matched his own. 

Before this very moment, he hadn’t known a single other person in all the world that knew what this mark was on his chest, let alone someone that had what looked to be the same exact one marking their own body. Despite his desire to not stare, he couldn’t help himself as he walked to her and dropped to his knees to look more closely at it. 

“What does it mean?” he asked, hand pausing mid air just before touching it. Cid looked up at her, eyes searching for permission to do just that. 

“It means we’re soulmates.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Soulmates?” The word was unfamiliar to Cid as he repeated it back to the Au’Ra staring up at him. He knew what a soul was and he understood the term mate, but when putting the two words together it seemed to have lost all meaning. “What is that?”

The other Scions looked at each other, lips pursed as they considered how best to describe it. Carine just grinned and patted Dainty on the shoulder and said something that sounded similar to “good luck with that one”, but ultimately it was Y’shtola that spoke up. 

“It means you are two halves of a complete whole. You are meant to complete her and she is meant to complete you in a way,” the Miqo’te explained, her cat-eyes turning to Lyse with the softest of expressions. “Words do not do the feeling justice.”

Cid puckered his brow and pulled at his beard. This went against everything he had ever known and made little sense to him. How could someone be born that was not already whole? How could one single person complete another person? It simply was not logical, especially when he considered that he didn’t know Dainty at all other than her name. “I’m not sure I follow…”

Dainty interrupted his train of thought as she took his face in her hands and pulled him in for a kiss. He froze, his entire body going rigid, unsure of what he should do as her soft lips pressed against his. He never would have put her as the type of woman to pull such a brazen move on anyone, let alone a complete stranger who also happened to be a prisoner. 

She pulled away from him before the kiss had processed in his mind, her eyes flitting down to his exposed chest in anticipation. Whatever she saw however, must have displeased her. With a troubled frown, Dainty turned to the others. “It didn’t work.”

Troubled himself, Cid looked down at his chest to see what it might have been that bothered her so. As far as he could see, there had been no notable changes in his mark. It looked the same as it always had and felt the same too, now that he thought about it. Ever since she had touched him, there was no more pain or discomfort radiating from it. 

“Mayhap you didn’t do it right?” Lyse pondered as she looked to Y’shtola for answers. “I know you just met and all, but if you were to try and do it - ouch!”

Y’shtola jabbed her elbow into Lyse’s ribs and shook her head. “There is no proof that it is a kiss that creates a bond.”

“Wouldn’t hurt to give it a better go,” the Hyur mumbled as she rubbed her side. “It’s better than suggesting they sleep together.”

Cid paled at the thought as he looked back to the diminutive woman still frowning at his chest. She was so small, so tiny compared to him. He was sure even if he took the utmost care in being careful he would likely hurt her…

Now his face was flushing red and he did his best to look anywhere else. What in seven hells was he thinking?! He had just met this woman not even two days ago and he was already imagining the best way to try and have sex with her so she wouldn’t get hurt. Not only that, but what would Gaius say to such base thoughts? Beautiful though she may be, she was no Garlean woman and therefore completely off limits for the likes of Cid nan Garlond.

“Might be best to wait for Alphinaud and Alisaie to return with the tomes we found and see if there is anything there to glean,” Carine suggested. It was probably the most reasonable thing to ever come from her mouth - at least it was the most reasonable thing he had heard her say.

Minfilia nodded, her eyes looking past them all into nothingness. Just like he and everyone else, this was likely something she had not expected or planned for. “I shall send word to them immediately. In the meantime, Master Garlond? I would know of your plans with us. Shall you lend us your aid? Or shall you remain here as our prisoner?”

Cid frowned, surprised they would offer him a choice at all. “Would you not just make me do your bidding? You have me here, why not force me against my will?”

“We are not Garleans,” Minfilia explained. For the first time since meeting the woman, her face had hardened as she looked upon him. She looked every bit a leader worthy of being begrudged by Gaius van Baelsar. “You have a choice, but we cannot let you return until our mission is completed, success or failure. We will gladly provide you with your basic needs should you refuse our offer, but you will be provided all the accommodations you require should you accept.”

“And what if I need to think this over?” 

Minfilia looked to Dainty, crestfallen. “Then I suppose you shall be treated as a prisoner until such a time you change your mind.”

They had wrongly thought he would blindly jump to their side despite the Garlean Empire being all he had ever known. He would gladly commend them on being brazen and bold, few had the gall to fell an Imperial airship and fewer still would take a hostage. He could even agree that the idea of a corrupted Elemental was a bad thing - a really bad thing. In fact, the memory of his comrades disappearing into a cloud of dust was nearly enough to change his mind. It was one thing for the Elementals to have that power to protect their territory, it was quite another for something unstable to be able to wield it. 

But he was still a Garlean. There was no sure way to tell the Scions wouldn’t make him turn whatever this relic is they found into a weapon against his homeland. Troubled and faulted though Garlemald may be, it was still his home. Cid couldn’t, in good conscious, aid a known enemy to the Empire. To do so would mark him with treason and leave him nothing but a hangman’s noose waiting with not a soul to defend him. 

Carine was the first to approach him, but her apologetic stare was not meant for the man whose arms she now bound, but the ever stoic Dainty as they passed her by. As their eyes met, Cid was certain he could feel her disappointment as if it were his own. He hung his head, unable to face the look in her eyes as he allowed the pushy Elezen to lead him back into the tunnel.

***

  
  


“What are we to make of this?” Minfilia wondered as she paced back and forth. “Surely he can not be blind to the pull between you?”

Dainty shrugged and took a bite of a crisp red apple from the tray Carine had left on her desk earlier. “There’s still much we do not know about the nature of soulbonds. It could be we are missing something.”

“Yes, but the question is what,” Y’shtola added. “I could no more deny my interest in Lyse than I could stop myself from breathing yet the Garlean does not seem the least affected.”

“It could always be something rather than a romantic bond, or have you forgotten about us?” The familiar voice of Alphinaud interrupted their train of thought. Dainty turned to see that his twin, Alisaie, accompanied him. “What if their bond was meant to be nothing more than a platonic one such as ours?”

No one could immediately counter their suggestion as they were living proof of being something different. While the others who were already bonded had grown into a romantic relationship with their partner, the same could not be said of the twins who bore the same marks upon their hands. Though there had been some  _ doubts _ to the nature of their bond given the intimacy the others shared, they had both denied on every occasion that theirs was anything more than a brotherly and sisterly love. With the way they often quarreled, suspicions and doubts were cast aside. 

There was no way they were anything other than siblings.

“I suppose that is true…” Minfilia tapped her cheek thoughtfully. “Dainty? You are the one with the mark. What is it you feel from him?”

It was a question she did not know the answer to. Had she been asked a day ago what she felt, it would have been nothing but an ache on her thigh and an itch that could not be sated. Now, budding curiosity had become a thorn in her side. The handsome Garlean might not have outright rejected her, but the fact he was able to put their proposal on hold made her wonder exactly what the Mother Crystal had in store for them. 

“I feel no differently than I did before,” she admitted, though it wasn’t entirely the truth. Her mark no longer pained her since she had kissed him and there was a dull throb of desire to visit him in his cell and ask him if those feelings were echoed. Chances were not high considering where his allegiance lay, but she could also not deny the hope within her chest he might cast aside his rank in favor of serving the greater good. 

A collective sigh echoed through the empty chamber only to be interrupted by a door opening at the far end. Dainty lifted her eyes to see Carine walking towards them, her pointed face a mask of whatever it was she was feeling. 

“I trust you saw to his accommodations?” Minfilia asked as the Elezen leaned against the wall to join in on their discussion. 

“Of course. He is placed far enough away from the other prisoners we have,” she replied with a firm nod. “And, lest you worry, I did make sure to send for some lamps and provisions to be delivered.”

Dainty knew it pained Carine to play nice with the Garleans, but she found herself grateful for it. Anything that might help him come to see the light and realize the Scions meant them no harm was better than trying to force his unwilling allegiance to their cause. “I suppose now I should be the one to try and talk him into joining our side?” she offered now looking to the others. 

“You have the best chance out of all of us,” Alphinaud agreed. “Even if your marks do not make you romantically bound, they do tend to lend another perspective regardless if we want it or not.”

Dainty thought for a few moments, silently considering her options and the best chances she might have at success to sway their important guest to their side. Being kept as a prisoner with a few visits here and there seemed the best option as a whole because it gave the Scions control of who could see him and when, but something deep down within her said that wasn’t the quickest way to persuade him. As if guiding her, that same instinct throbbed at her mind, taking her away from the chapel in which she stood and forced her over malms of land and sea. Moments flashed in her mind’s eye, brief glimpses of things she did not understand.

A man, no, a younger Cid stood by another man’s side looking over equipment Dainty did not recognize. Words were lost from the pressure created by the power of the Echo, dampening their voices so that she could not understand the exchange. Not that she could have even if she had tried, the few things she heard sounded like High Garlean and made little sense. Then there was a flash, a moon turning red and then…

Decimation.

Wherever the vision had taken her had been completely wiped off the map. There was nothing left. Nothing save the younger version of Cid looking upon the place that had once been with horror in his pale eyes. Beside him were two other figures...two figures which she was sure she recognized.

Before long she was back in her body and in the chapel. Both Minfilia and Carine looked at her with concern knowing full well what had just happened. They too, were blessed with the Echo, but neither of them seemed affected by what Hydaelyn wished for her to see. It was a key, a key for her eyes only, one that would surely open the door into communicating with their prisoner. 

“If there is a room that can be used, I would have it furnished with whatever tools he might require,” Dainty told them. “I’ll return soon.”

And with that, she turned on her heel without another word and made her way to the Chocobo stables, if they could be called such, so that she might put the Wanderer’s Palace behind her. The sooner she took flight and made her way to the city of Ul’dah, the sooner she would find the two figures that the vision had revealed to her. If her intuition was correct, as it often was, they would be an asset to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and with their allegiance, so would Cid nan Garlond.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for not updating as often as I promised I would. I have had severe depression for what seems like a lifetime now, and my joys were no longer found in writing my favorite characters. I'm not out of the woods yet, but I am no longer so lost that I can't upload what I have written :)

Carine had, unfortunately, been the one put on guard duty for the Garlean that sat quietly in the back of his cell. He hadn’t spoken a word to her upon her arrival, which she supposed was to be expected. She hadn’t exactly been the  _ nicest _ person to him from the moment of their meeting. 

Being the proud person she was, Carine would not apologize for her behavior. She felt there was little reason to, given the grief the Garleans had caused her and all of Eorzea with their takeover. Gods, but what about Dainty? This... _ man _ ...was supposed to be her soulmate and, like it or not, part of their number to help stop the threat of corrupted Elementals. He was their hope in figuring out this machine and how it worked and what it might be used for which meant she would have no choice but to cast her pride aside and work alongside him no matter the rancid taste it left in her mouth. 

At least she did not have Lyse or Y’shtola’s job of furnishing a bloody room for him. They seemed cheerful enough to do Dainty’s bidding without further question. What Carine wanted to know was what had her friend seen? Where had she gone in such a hurry that she could not have told any of them her plan? It wasn’t safe out there and yet Dainty had basically denied Carine’s help. It felt like a knife in the gut, but the Elezen had to trust her. Whatever the Echo had chosen to show her had to have been important enough to leave them all behind with more questions rather than answers.

Footsteps echoed through the chamber alerting her that she was no longer alone. She prayed it was another person to relieve her of guard duty, but found herself disappointed in seeing Lyse instead. That could only mean the room was done and the prisoner would be moved to the lap of luxury despite having done nothing to deserve it. 

“I already know what you’re going to say,” she held up her hand and shook her head. “I am to escort the tinhead to his new accommodations, correct?”

Lyse stopped in her tracks and stared at her wide-eyed in surprise. “You know, I don’t quite like it when you use your Echo on me,” she said as she resumed her approach. 

Carine just chuckled and fished for the keys in her pocket. There was no point in telling the other woman she was about as transparent as the gloom that hung over Mor Dhona ever since the last Calamity. 

“It was just a hunch,” she replied as she put the key in the lock. “Hey, Three-eyes. Today is your lucky day. You’re upgrading.”

The Garlean glared at her through the bars of his prison, his expression one of disgust. He couldn’t stand her and she reveled in knowing the feeling was completely mutual. He didn’t make a move to stand, no doubt not trusting Carine and her intentions as she swung wide the door to let him out. 

“No putting me in chains? Clasping my wrists in iron?” he growled.

“Alas, I am under orders to treat you  _ nicely,” _ the word was sour on her tongue and the smile she wore stiff and fake. 

He lifted one white brow, though still glaring at her, intrigued but not convinced by her admission. “And whose orders are those?”

“Unfortunately, everyone’s,” Carine mumbled as she entered the cell to help move things along. She was never a woman of patience - patience that grew ever thin in the presence of those that now ruled over Eorzea. Cid was reluctant to leave, but her persistence prevailed. He would much rather leave the cell of his own volition than to be dragged out by the likes of her and that made her job of escorting him all the easier. 

Lyse led the way to the new room where Cid would be kept and watched. To Carine’s dismay, it was closer to the Scions’ personal sleeping quarters than she would have liked. As badly as she wanted to mention something to Lyse about her choice of location, she held her tongue with hopes that fact would not be made known to him. 

The chosen room was big. Much like the other rooms, it sported a tall ceiling and stone walls and flooring. Large ornate rugs had been brought in to add some color to the otherwise dull room and lanterns hung from the walls to give adequate lighting. Also, to her great disapproval, was a rather large workstation set up along one wall across from the simple bed. Upon it sat tools, the names of such things the Elezen did not know. 

Her careful eyes watched the Garlean as he took everything in. He appeared just as surprised as she at the lengths they had gone through to accommodate him and whatever needs he might have. He looked over at the table and immediately her hand went to her dagger tucked at her side. She was just waiting, almost begging him to give her an excuse to use it, but he did nothing of the sort. Instead, he walked over to the bed and looked down at it with a puzzled expression. 

“Do I even wish to know why I am being moved to these quarters?” he glanced over his shoulder at her. 

“I told you before. Orders are orders, no matter how much I despise them.”

“If you think this will change my mind on anything-”

“I don’t,” Carine snapped. “I think it is a poor decision made in desperation, but ‘tis not my call to make. What I can’t understand is how you can sit there and not feel anything.”

Cid turned to her with furrowed brow and crossed his arms over his broad chest as he frowned. “And what exactly am I supposed to be feeling?”

The Elezen placed her hand over her eyes and sighed. Was he truly so daft? Or was he just playing stupid to get her worked up? If that were the case, it was working. “The mark? Do you really not understand the concept of soulmates?” she asked in earnest. 

“You seem to forget that Garleans do not believe in your gods,” Cid replied as a matter of fact.

“I never said anything about the Twelve creating the match…”

“But you sang them praises and your thanks when you realized we were not the ones matched, did you not?”

Carine hmph’d knowing full well he was right, or as right as he believed himself to believe. No, it might not have been the Twelve’s doing that created these marks etched into their skin, but the Scions, especially Minfilia, had every reason to believe this was all Hydaelyn’s doing; an argument that wouldn’t hold up to the atheist views of those raised in Garlemald. 

Still, she could not help but to hate him for the disappointment he had wrought within Dainty. There had to be something there. Her friend wouldn’t have just kissed him for no reason. 

She turned to him with her guard dropped if only to look him in the eyes and try and get his honest answer as best she could. “Do you truly not feel anything? No pull? No niggling in the back of your mind?”

Cid shook his head, “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Her heart dropped in her chest. It was worth a shot. Mayhap Alphinaud was correct in thinking this could simply be a platonic bond, not that it made it any better. He still was as friendly towards them as a nesting basilisk was to an unfortunate adventurer. 

“Might I ask just one thing of you?” she lifted her gaze to him still raw with the anger boiling just under the surface. 

“Normally I would say bugger off considering your brand of hospitality,” he clenched his jaw at her audacity. “But I find myself your prisoner, so it’s not like I have a choice.”

Carine smirked, but the expression felt hollow as there was no real feeling of triumph behind it. “I ask you only as a favor to Dainty, not to myself,” she explained. “Don’t let my transgressions against you cloud your judgement over her.”

Whether or not the Garlean would listen to her was something the Elezen could not say as she exited the room and left him alone with his thoughts. She only hoped that Dainty would be able to cast enough doubt into the man’s head that he might at least consider the possibility of soulmates. If anyone were capable of such a feat, it would have been her.

***

Cid didn’t know whether or not he liked his new quarters more than his cell, or less. On one hand, it was enough space he could stretch out and it didn’t smell like fish and rot. On the other, he knew he was closer to the heart of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn which meant there would be less chances of coercing someone into freeing him so that he might escape and reveal the location of their base to Gaius. 

What he hadn’t expected was for them to equip him with several different tools, most of them Garlean made. He wondered how they had managed to get their hands on such things until he remembered the wreckage of his ship back in the Black Shroud. Seeing as his entire toolkit had been on board with him so that he could make the necessary repairs and adjustments to the airships in Ul’dah, it shouldn’t have been surprising at all to find a good many of his more personalized tools among those on the table. It wasn’t everything, but it was enough to give him some small comfort in knowing they hadn’t been destroyed or completely confiscated. 

For two days nothing changed for him. Carine seemed to be the main guard that stood watch outside his door and accompanied him to the washrooms, but she was given breaks from time to time replaced by someone else of rank and importance. They were taking every precaution in keeping him right where he was, and he hated them all the more for it. 

Despite being an engineer that could stay in the same room for weeks without growing bored of the walls surrounding him, Cid found it incredibly difficult to not pace the room like a caged animal desperate for escape. There were no projects to keep his hands busy, no grand ideas coming to his mind to create blueprints of. It was just him, his bed, and his workbench. 

Oh, and the ever persistent memory of the little Au’Ra that haunted his every waking and dreaming moment. 

He hadn’t seen Dainty since that grassy hill and he had no intentions on asking for her whereabouts lest Carine get the wrong impression. She was already of a mind that he had done something to wrong her friend, though he couldn’t discern what it was. She had practically pleaded with him to speak to the woman with a mind clear of all the hatred he felt towards the Elezen. That was a simple enough task, Dainty hadn’t done anything to earn his ire. 

His lips tingled with the faint memory of her upon them. More often than he cared to admit, Cid thought about that kiss and how it had soothed the burning on his chest from the blasted mark. Carine had asked him if he had felt something and he had outright lied because he felt too  _ many _ things. There was an attraction he could not deny from the moment his eyes first fell upon hers and there was this growing desire to be around her that couldn’t be explained. How was he supposed to admit that to the likes of those keeping him under lock and key when it was clear that was exactly what they wanted?

He needed more time to think and consider what all of this meant before blindly jumping on board with their insanity wrought by their religion.

A knock at his door had the Garlean on his feet in an instant. Cid knew at once it wasn’t Carine coming to check on him, the Elezen had a penchant for walking in without warning, but he hadn’t expected it to be Dainty on the other side. His throat ran dry the moment their gazes met and words of welcome dried upon his tongue as she looked up at him. 

“I was not interrupting anything, was I?” she asked, eyes flicking down to the opening of his shirt on his chest and then back up to his face. 

A blush tinged his cheeks as he shook his head and looked around the room for something for her to sit on. While the Scions had been generous in providing him a workbench with his tools at his disposal, there was not much in the way of entertaining guests. “I fear there is not much to keep me entertained at the moment.”

“Would you mind if I kept your company for a bit?” 

If Cid had been nervous before by her presence, he was utterly petrified now. “I can hardly fathom why you would wish to keep company with a Garlean. I have been reminded on many occasions how much my kind displeases you Eorzeans,” he replied, though he motioned for her to fully enter the room. 

She smiled sweetly at him in passing, a sight that set aflutter his heart. “Carine is prone to exaggeration, I’m afraid,” she told him as she perched herself neatly upon the edge of his bed. Her tail curled to her side, the pale scales glinting in the gentle glow of the lanterns on the walls. “I would say you should forgive her for her distrust in you, but that would be akin to me asking the same of her. I doubt it would go over well.”

Cid scratched at the back of his head unsure of what to say or do. Had this been his own private quarters, he would have summoned a servant to bring them wine and food to make the visit more pleasant. Then again, he had to remind himself that he was a prisoner and if their situations were reversed, he likely would never have visited her in her cell. 

“Why are you here?” He hated himself for resorting to that question, but even he had to admit there was only so much he could take of everything being thrust upon him. 

“Because we should get to know each other, should we not?” she raised a pale brow. “Regardless of your decision to either stay as a friend or stay as a prisoner, I would get to know the man that has been deemed my soulmate.”

He shuddered at the mention of that word, the word that gave him more problems than it solved. “I keep hearing you Scions say that and I still haven’t the foggiest of what it means,” he told her. “And, to be quite honest, I’m not convinced you know what it means either.”

Dainty shrugged her shoulders and nodded, “You’re right, we don’t. The only thing we have to go on is fairytales and myths. Well, that and what the others have experienced.”

Cid contemplated her words, mulling them over in his mind as he paced back and forth. He knew the stories she spoke of, not that he had ever taken such liberties as to read them. Some were innocent children’s tales of parents promising their young that the gods had chosen someone out there just for them to love. Others were tales of love at first sight, a moment where two souls recognized the other bringing together two people who otherwise never would have got on. 

But he felt neither of them applied to him or the pretty Au’Ra currently staring at him from his bed. He was attracted to her, yes, but in the same way he had been attracted to other women in the past. There was no explosion of revelation that this woman was meant to be his, no profound realization that he likewise belonged to her. They were but two people sitting in a room looking at each other in confusion.

“I see you are having a difficult time with this,” she went on, notes of disappointment in her voice as she stood up. “I am not here to force you into anything, Master Garlond. My only hope is that we might at least become friends.”

“Might be difficult to be friends with the people keeping me prisoner,” he told her honestly. 

“Carine would be pleased to see you agree with the way she feels,” Dainty chuckled. The sound was like clear water in a babbling brook, light and soothing, and Cid found that he quite liked it. The comparison she made to the Elezen he despised was not so well appreciated. 

He turned away from her, fixing his eyes on one of the many blank spots on the walls that surrounded him. “You might not be here to force anything upon me, but you are keeping me prisoner all the same,” he sighed. “You cannot expect me to throw away years of my education and beliefs simply because we share a mark. That is not enough reason to betray my homeland.”  _ No matter how pretty you are, _ he added mentally for his benefit.

“I expect you to throw away nothing,” she retorted through gritted teeth. “We have already stated we are not gathered to resist your homeland, however badly we wish to. Our only goal is to stop another Calamity from happening because your kind wish to remain willfully ignorant of the consequences of their actions.”

“So you mean to tell me that if this relic you have found is pieced together and has the power to use against Garlemald, you would not jump at that chance to reclaim Eorzea?”

Dainty glared at him, her eyes full of determination as she centered herself between him and the wall he was looking at. “You are missing a rather important point, Master Garlond. If Elementals continue to form and become corrupted thanks to the lack of White Mages to cleanse the Twelveswood, there won’t  _ be _ an Eorzea to reclaim.” 

Cid gave pause at her words, their truth ringing clearly in his ears. Garlemald was yet his home and all he had ever known. He held no love for the Eorzeans and their strange beliefs, even less so now that he was imprisoned in their walls, but even he could not ignore the problem that they claimed to be created by the Empire’s ambitions. He had witnessed first hand the power a single Elemental could wield against a small unit of highly trained Imperial soldiers. He hesitated to imagine what more than one could do, corrupted or not.

“I cannot promise to be of use to you,” he conceded, shoulders dropping with defeat. No matter how he looked at the situation, there were no good options available to him. It was either help the Eorzeans and betray his homeland, or ignore their plight and have their homeland destroyed. Either way, no one was getting out of this mess unscathed. “My talents lie with the likes of magitek and ancient Allagan technology. Things created by the scholars of Nym…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Dainty wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. Her cheek planted firmly against the mark he bore on his chest, though the hard press of her cranial projection nudged him harder. She pulled away before he had time to react, her deep magenta eyes aglow with relief and hope rendering him speechless. “We do not ask that you know what to do, only that you will at least  _ try.” _

“If I am to do this...I will need to see the relic in question,” he coughed and cleared his throat while putting meaningful distance between them. He had rather enjoyed the contact  _ too _ much, and he was still busy trying to keep his mind from thinking anything about the soulmates they were supposed to be.  _ One thing at a time, _ he reminded himself before going on. “And I will need to have unrestricted access to it.”

“You are my ward, I shall see to it,” she smiled generously up at him. 

Ward? Well, he supposed that was better than being a prisoner. If being her ward meant that Carine would no longer be waiting outside his door most bells of the day, Cid would gladly take her up on it. “I may also need things you might not have here…”

“We’re more resourceful than you might give us credit for, Master Garlond.” This time she winked at him and suddenly he found it rather difficult to concentrate. 

“Cid.”

“Pardon?” Dainty tilted her head so that her hair fell in a lovely wave to the side. 

“You should call me Cid,” he cleared his throat as he looked down at his boots. “It was you that suggested we at least become friends, was it not?”

A slow, creeping smile spread across her pretty lips. “It was indeed.”

Somehow he felt suddenly nervous, like he had just played into her hands in a game he didn’t understand, yet there was nothing to be done about it now as she walked towards the door to leave. A part of him, the part he would consider foolish, wanted to reach out to her and ask her to stay a little longer. The other part decided it would be best to leave things as they were for now. 

_ One thing at a time, Cid. One thing at a time. _


	8. Chapter 8

“Do you think he has what it takes to figure this thing out?” Carine asked, the rasp of the whetstone against the steel of her blade echoing in the stone quarters of the Au’Ra. She had noted for the greater part of the day that Dainty had been showing the Garlean around now they had his word he would help them. The Elezen wasn’t convinced of his conviction, it seemed too  _ convenient _ that he would suddenly change his mind after one heart to heart with her friend. “The others we managed to bring her turned out less than useless.”

“I think he is the only engineer we have managed to capture,” Dainty replied, tail flicking back and forth as she looked through her wardrobe for what to wear. “And I think once I introduce him to his surprise, it will strengthen his resolve.”

Carine shook her head, “The man is a Garlean, first and foremost. Is that not what he has said from the very beginning?”

“He’s also the one meant to be my soulmate.”

The bite in her words had the Elezen looking down at her hands like a reprimanded child. She knew what he was supposed to be, but she couldn’t understand what good he was to their cause if he wouldn’t acknowledge what he was himself. “I didn’t mean to offend-”

“No, but you really ought to learn patience,” Dainty huffed as she sorted through her garments. “We can ill-afford to be divided now.”

Carine sighed heavily and stopped her work to risk a glance at her friend. “Do you think he will ever come to see you as what you are to him?”

That was the greatest fear she had herself. Soulmates were distinguished by a mark only, one that  _ supposedly _ was meant to draw two halves of a soul into one. Unfortunately, all the soulmates they knew personally had either had an immediate connection upon seeing each other, or were bonded from birth. It appeared that the concept was much more complicated than any of them thought considering the lack of reaction from their Garlean prisoner...er... _ guest. _

“Who knows? Only time will tell. That and determination,” Dainty flashed a grin over her shoulder just as she settled for a pretty, light blue dress. 

She supposed that was fair. Dainty wasn’t one to just give up on such things, if anything she was bound and determined to see them through to the end. The reluctance from Cid was only but a single obstacle she would have to overcome. “What about you?” Carine asked instead. “Do you feel anything towards him?”

“Nothing more than an intense curiosity.”

She tapped her cheek at that, the admission doing nothing to appease her lingering doubt. Given the readings the other Scions had procured on their travels through Eorzea and the Twelveswood, they had time to sort this mess out. Carine wasn’t convinced on the math. They had three established bonded pairs and one pair that was about as far from bonded as Carine was to the person she shared her mark with. Even if they had years before the Elementals became a true threat on the realm, there was no promise the remaining soulmates would find each other and solidify their bonds beforehand. 

It was probably why the people of Nym had failed in the first place. 

“I suppose you intend to introduce him tonight to those two you found wandering in Ul’dah?” she stretched her long legs out as the smaller woman got dressed. 

“Aye. I think it might help move things along quite nicely,” Dainty beamed at her through the mirror she admired herself in. 

“So will that dress,” Carine waggled her brows and grinned as she looked her up and down. “Where do you even find the time to buy these clothes?”

The Raen shook a finger at her, “Who said anything about buying? I’m a pirate at heart, or have you forgotten?”

“Ah, you have me there. Why worry about the intricacies of falling in love when you can just steal his heart instead,” Carine giggled. Dainty delivered a sharp glare in her direction before laughing about it herself and shaking her head. 

“If it were only that easy,” she replied, taking one last look in the mirror to make sure everything looked fine. “Where are you off to this evening?”

“Oh, you know, just following a lead on another couple. Minfilia believes there is a bonded pair out there hiding somewhere in La Noscea. Figured if you had everything in order here, I would chase them down and beg them to join our cause.”

“So you’ll be gone for a few days?”

Carine shrugged, “A few days, a few weeks. Depends on how many tinheads are out there I have to avoid or fight my way through.”

That was the trouble with the Echo. It gave someone only so much information before leaving them to try and figure it out for themselves. A shame it didn’t show all the Echo-users the same image either. In fact, Carine would have thought it a grand idea if the bloody magic would just show her who she was supposed to be bonded to and where they might be to eliminate the struggle of having to look at every single godsdamned Eorzean when she was out in the field.

That would be just too easy though, wouldn’t it?

“Then might I impart some words of wisdom for you before you leave?” Dainty quirked a brow up with a small grin. “Do try not to get too many Garleans riled up this time, yes?”

Carine smirked and shook her head. She knew  _ exactly  _ what her friend was referring to, but it wasn’t a promise she could make. If a tinhead wanted a fight, she would gladly give them one even if it made her a wanted woman in all of Eorzea. 

Dainty waved goodbye as Carine departed on her mission. A few other adventurers that had joined the Scion’s ranks joined her which gave them all some measure of relief. If there were other people at risk, the Elezen was less likely to cause a scene in favor of keeping them alive. She turned and went the opposite way down the hall from her quarters where the common room the Scions shared sat. Y’shtola was sitting on one of the lounges with a book in her hand while Lyse stretched her long legs over her thighs while giving Minfilia her report. 

“Papalymo thinks there is still just the one corrupted Elemental in the Twelveswood,” Lyse said. “Though there looks to be quite a few more sprites than usual too. Could be another one nearly ready to form.”

That’s just what they needed,  _ two _ corrupted Elementals running amok in the Black Shroud. If it weren’t for the fact the corruption of the aether hadn’t already maddened the creatures within those woods, driving the locals from their outposts and letting nature overrun things, then two corrupted and powerful beings would have done it. 

“I suppose the Garleans have naught to worry about,” Y’shtola went on, her bright eyes glancing at Dainty as she perched herself in one of the chairs to her side. “They use their airships to fly over the Twelveswood rather than through it. It contains no ceruleum so what worth does it have?”

Which was why they were doing nothing about the problem the citizens of Gridania were facing. Unfortunately, that was leading to overcrowding in the city and more often than not, people were finding themselves in the streets rather than a warm bed or trying to gather gil to move to safer pastures. Wouldn’t be long, Dainty wagered, before Carine was begging for her mother and sister to join them here at the Wanderer’s Palace to save them the discomfort. 

“Have you had any luck with Master Garlond?” Thancred asked from where he stood at Minfilia’s side. He appeared to be pouring over the ancient texts and tombs they had managed to uncover since happening upon this ancient ruin and taking residence, what little they had found anyway. 

“I am waiting for a couple of guests to arrive,” she replied, leaning back and resting her eyes. It had been a few days, but she expressed that they exercise due caution when approaching their hideout. “Should be any day now, or any time.”

Almost as if fate decided her words were law, the door to the room opened revealing Urianger clad in his rugged scholar look and worried expression. “Forgive mine interruption, but there appears to be an airship seeking clearance at our gates.”

This captured everyone’s attention. At once, the Scions moved to grab their weapons of choice and make their way to the top of the palace. It was the only place that could support an airship, albeit a small one. Dainty, who was without her axe, diverted from her path toward her room just to make sure they were well prepared for whatever the Garleans might throw at them. 

In passing, Cid poked his head out of his room and looked up and down the hall with concern. “What’s happening?”

There was no time to grace his curiosity with an answer, nor did she feel it necessary to lock him in his room when the threat of being raided seemed impossibly high. Instead she focused on grabbing her axe and running as quickly as her legs would take her up the stairs, dimly aware he was following close behind. 

Upon reaching the top of the palace, she had to crane her neck high and shield her eyes from the torrential downpour that shrouded all vision. It was always difficult to tell the weather from deep within the Wanderer’s Palace, even with gale force winds beating upon its walls. The ancient ruin was sturdy, built to last against the strongest storms wrought by the sea. The other Scions were as ill prepared for the weather as she, their voices lost in the wind and rain that whipped around them as they searched the churning clouds for any sign of the airship. 

Without warning, the ship that had been eluding them dropped from the skies only to be pitched again in the air currents that couldn’t make up their mind. Dainty recognized it at once and shouted for the others to stand down as she grinned. Those bloody fools. She had expressly told them  _ not _ to bring the bloody airship with them. 

It took several tries before they were able to land safely, but their piloting skills proved an asset as it finally rested against the top of the tower shrouded by the tall walls that hid the landing space. Almost immediately, a tiny Lalafell dressed in merchant wear hurried down the steps and onto the stone. He fell to his knees and kissed the ground, ignoring the Scions that now gathered around him. 

“Oi! No need for the dramatics, Wedge. We made it, didn’t we?” A large Roegadyn grinned from aboard the ship. 

“Remind me never to sail the skies during a bloody hurricane with you next time,” the Lalafell spat, tossing his arms like a child in a tantrum. “We could have died!”

“Biggs? Wedge?” 

Dainty turned just in time to see Cid step out into the mess of rain, his white shirt soaking through and revealing a rather nicely defined chest. He took no notice of her blatant staring at some of his finer features as he passed her, his eyes locked on the two men and the battered airship now sitting before him. 

“Chief? Is that you?” Biggs removed his goggles and squinted to try and get a better look. “Well I’ll be! Wedge! That Au’Ra was right! The Chief  _ is _ here!” He rushed off the airship and barreled straight for the Garlean who still seemed in complete shock and awe of everything. Grinning from ear to ear, the Roegadyn wrapped his arms around him and lifted him off the ground in a meaningful embrace, bringing a smile to Dainty’s eye. 

The Echo had not been wrong.

“What-how?” Cid tried to form a coherent sentence, but found that there were too many questions that he couldn’t focus upon a single one. “Where did you come from?”

It had been years since he had last seen his assistants. After the incident at the Bozja Citadel, he couldn’t with good conscience, keep them under his employ and begged them to take his prized airship and depart for better places, places that wouldn’t likely lay claim to their life. 

“We’ve been here in Eorzea ever since,” Wedge informed him. “We work on fixing things here and there, or we did until Dainty came and found us.”

“That’s right. We were going to try and meet you in Ul’dah when we heard word that a certain Minister of Industry was coming, but then we also heard that he had been lost in the wilds of the Black Shroud…” Biggs said as he released his grip upon the man. 

Cid furrowed his brow, confusion writ upon his features as he looked between his former assistants and then finally at the ship. 

She was a little worse for wear, likely from the abuse she took flying through this hellish storm, but she was whole and apparently in great working condition to have weathered the trip here. It mattered not that rain poured over him or that the Scions watched with caution in their eyes as he slowly walked up and put his hand upon his grand design. Oh, he had tried to recreate her many a time, his latest version  _ almost _ hitting the mark, but none of those ships would ever match the beauty and grace and power of his  _ Enterprise. _

“We did the best we could to keep her safe, Chief,” Wedge informed him with a wide grin. “And to keep her out of reach of anyone and everyone that might want to get their grubby hands on her.”

“Had to stow her away for a time,” Biggs admitted sheepishly. “Did our best to clean her up to your expectations though, we did.”

He still didn’t understand, couldn’t comprehend what was happening. How did they know he was here? Why did they risk revealing their identities and the ship after all they had gone through to protect it and themselves? 

“Leave it to you two to make a grand entrance,” Dainty shook her head, droplets of water dripping from her falling curls. “Didn’t I advise otherwise? You had us all thinking you were Garleans.”

Wedge turned and pointed a small finger at her, “Well we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring her here, now could we?” he scolded. “Bad as this storm is, it gave us enough cover to keep us from being seen by other Garlean ships.”

“Though I ain’t quite the pilot Chief is,” Biggs kicked at the ground. “She might’ve suffered some dings and dents, but I’ll use up all my earnings to get her looking her best again!”

Cid didn’t even care. All this time, after all these years, he had never expected to see the likes of them again. Didn’t think he deserved it after what had happened at the Bozja Citadel. All those lives lost, friends and relatives of the two men now standing before him with nothing but admiration and relief in their eyes at having been reunited with him at long last.

He turned his eyes to Dainty, unable to find the words to adequately describe what she’d given him. There was no doubt in his mind this is what she had been up to, why she had been gone for so long. “What have I done to earn this?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper as he looked back to the ship. 

“It’s not what you’ve done, Cid, it’s what you  _ will _ do,” she smiled sweetly up at him. “Now, can we get out of this rain? I am quite certain it has completely ruined this dress.”


	9. Chapter 9

Carine blended in effortlessly with the crowds in Hawker’s Alley. Acting the part of an eager shopper, she stopped at every market stall to examine their wares with feigned interest. Just to add to the careful  façade , she purchased a few items from a new sewing kit for her mother to some rare seeds for Violaine. Living the life of a rebel left her little time to visit with them, but she rather enjoyed sending random gifts to let them know she was well and whole and thinking of them every day. 

But it wasn’t shopping that had drawn her to the market stalls she now strolled through. Minfilia’s vision had specifically guided her to this very place in search of yet another promising couple. She could only guess as to what they looked like or what sort of bonded pair they were, which meant any couple in all of Limsa Lominsa could be the people she was looking for. It didn’t help matters that since Cid nan Garlond had gone missing, the Garlean presence in the city had increased tenfold. She shuddered to think of what it looked like in Gridania.

With a few more gil, Carine was able to purchase a crisp apple cider. Giving herself a break from people watching, she set herself up on one of the many ledges that overlooked the cerulean sea that stretched out into the horizon. At least of all the places for her to be sent to, she was sent here. 

Idly she scratched at her wrist. Damned new gloves, she knew better than to wear them on an outing without properly oiling them first to make them soft and pliable. And damned the Echo for not being more specific and making her job easier. Every moment out here in the open left her vulnerable and likely to get caught, especially since she was wont to taunt and tease the Garleans that patrolled the streets. 

A unit of tinheads marched past her. Normally she could easily ignore them, it was nothing new and didn’t outright demand her attention, but one look at the one dressed head to toe in rich maroon armor had her lifting her brow. Very few Garleans donned custom armor meaning whoever this person was, they were important. Carine studied them from the corner of her eyes while sipping on her cider not wanting to appear too interested. After they passed, she slipped languidly from her perch and followed a safe distance behind looking every bit the part of a tourist first arriving in the port city.

It was no surprise to her when they stopped just outside what was formerly the Maelstrom barracks. As all Grand Company headquarters had, the Maelstrom had been taken over by the tinheads to make room for all their bloody soldiers. Her mark itched again, demanding her attention as she sat upon one of the stone benches just below a willowy tree. She had half a mind to toss the gloves into a nearby bin had it not been for a moment the Garlean clad in red turned in her direction. 

Carine knew better than to look away instantly, that was always the most foolish thing one could do when following a target. Instead, she moved her eyes above his dragon helm and to the Garlean flag that waved where once the Maelstrom had. She supposed she could have tried to mask her sorrow or anger upon seeing it, but that would have been less believable than to just let her true emotions show. When she looked back down, she was relieved to see that he had directed his attention back to the men before him. 

The Elezen had but a few minutes to get to a good spot to listen in on the conversation and pick up on anything that might be of use to the Scions. As soon as he and the others disappeared behind the doors, she made her way to a nearby building that stood close enough she could leap from its roof to that of the barracks’. 

_ Ole Jacke would be proud of me now, _ she grinned to herself as she took a running start to make the leap. With all the skill she had learned from the rogues guild, Carine landed lightly and crouched low so that if anyone were to look up they wouldn’t see her. She waited for several breaths praying to the Twelve that none of the guards standing throughout the city had witnessed her and then released with relief. 

This would have been so much easier at night than the broad light of day. 

Carefully and as quietly as the boards beneath her sandals would allow, the Elezen tiptoed towards the balcony where voices were coming from. She hugged the side of the building keeping as close as she possibly could in case they thought to look up. 

“Are you sure?” the one in red asked, his hands folded behind his back. 

“Yes, my lord. The pings were picked up yesterday but lost in the storm,” the other replied. “We have scoured the coastline and have discovered naught.”

“Continue the search. Leave no stone unturned. Question all citizens. Kill those you think are hiding information.”

“At once, my lord.”

Carine grimaced, face twisting in anger at his orders as the subordinate soldier saluted him and departed. Did their evil know no bounds? Though she knew full well her mother and sister were safely tucked away in Gridania, she couldn’t help but see their faces cut down because their fear made them suspicious. How many innocents would perish because they couldn’t answer the right questions?

Killing the man in red would do nothing but put another bounty on her head. The order had been given and likely already dispersed through the ranks. Carine might be good with the daggers she had tucked at her side, but she couldn’t take on an entire army alone. 

“So you finally found a way out, didn’t you Garlond?” The sound of Cid’s surname immediately stopped her thoughts in their tracks and dragged her attention below to the Garlean. “You’ve been looking all this time, so  _ eager _ to escape everything that everyone has placed in your lap. Why, if I didn’t know any better, I would imagine you had it all planned from the start.”

She furrowed her brows as she listened, cautious to not lean forward too far as he mused to himself. Surely he wasn’t talking about the same Garlond she was thinking of? That man seemed rather loyal to the Empire and more than eager to return to it, not stay away. 

_ “Carine? Have you anything to report?” _ The sound of Minfilia’s voice in her ear startled her into a quick intake of breath. She froze, paralyzed as the Garlean below her shifted and looked up through the planks of wood. Should she remain completely still, he wouldn’t see her, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t  _ hear _ the bloody linkpearl. 

Of all the times for her to have forgotten to turn it off!

For several minutes she stayed locked in her position, barely breathing in fear he might hear that as well. Thankfully he seemed to lose interest, giving her straining muscles a moment to relax before she had to move. If he had any suspicions someone was listening in, she had no doubt he would send someone up there to observe her. 

Carine carefully moved around the roof, climbing higher onto the stone ledges that lead her to a nearby tree. Though there were several people mingling below, none of them were Garlean that she could see, giving her the break she was hoping for. She was just brushing off the dirt from her knee when she heard the telltale clanking of armor in the street. With the rest of the onlookers, she turned to watch them disperse.

Grinning from ear to ear, she continued to look out to sea as though they weren’t on the prowl for her. She was too clever for the likes of them and had done this too many times to get caught. Now it was just a matter of getting far enough away that their technology couldn’t pick up on her reply to the Antecedent. She might not have found the couple she was supposed to, but she  _ did _ get some more information on their Garlean prisoner.

_ Guest. _

The Elezen turned to make her way back to Hawker’s Alley. It was her best chance at getting lost in the crowd and doubling back to exit through one of the gates on the off chance she was being followed. One quick glance around, and she was in the clear.

Carine didn’t quite know what to make of the information she had overheard. It still seemed impossible to imagine he had been referring to the same Garlond she knew, it had to be. Yet there was this small blossom of hope within her that maybe he  _ was _ right and it was the same man. If that were the case and Cid had tried to escape the grasp of the Empire before, then that meant there was a good chance he could very well become open to their suggestions and their plight. It was a long shot, but for Dainty’s sake and all of Eorzea’s, she hoped this was the case. 

She was very nearly to freedom, the Zephyr Gate in her sights, when her mark began itching again. In search of finding a bin to toss the bloody gloves on her hands, she became aware of someone behind her. 

_ Shit. _ It was the red armored Garlean from before. Not slowing her pace or changing direction, Carine continued on as planned with the occasional scratching as she walked. He could have been following anyone, could have suspected anyone else…

_ “Carine? Is aught amiss? I have not heard from you. Please respond,” _ Minfilia ordered in her ear. 

_ Fuck, fuck, fuck! _ Of  _ course _ now would be the time Minfilia would get impatient. And now there was no denying the man behind her was following, given the increased determination in his steps behind her. 

“You might not be seeing me for a bit,” Carine touched her ear to activate her side of the linkpearl. “Try not to worry too much. I can take care of myself.”

Without waiting for a response, she plucked the device from her ear and dropped it to the ground. Using the heel of her sandals, she destroyed it and any connection it had rendering it impossible for anyone to trace it to another. 

“Oh silly me!” she shook her head as she bent to retrieve the broken thing. To the naked eye, it might look nothing more than like a pearl earring, one that even matched the one hanging on her other ear. “Damn, it’s ruined.”

It was about that time the Garlean caught up with her, his penetrating gaze hidden behind his draconic mask. “I’ll confiscate that linkpearl.”

Carine turned to him with feigned surprise and innocence as she looked at the broken bit in her hands. “I’m afraid you are mistaken, ser,” she said as she went to drop it in his outstretched hand. “‘Tis but an earring my mother gave to me before she died…”

He grabbed her wrist and it was all she could do not to gasp in pain as the mark burned into her flesh like white hot fire. Gods, it had  _ never _ done that before. He picked the piece from her fingers and likely compared it to the one hanging from her ear, but it was impossible to tell when she couldn’t see his face. Without warning, he reached out and ripped it right from her flesh, tearing her skin and making her scream at the unexpected pain. 

“What in fucking hells is wrong with you!” her temper flared as she pulled back her wrist to cup her ruined ear.

He ignored her as he lifted the bloody ball between his fingers before dropping it to the ground and stomping it with the heel of his boot. She watched as it cracked and crumbled, praying the damage he did to it would amount to what she had done to the linkpearl. Of course, as he bent to retrieve it from the stone, it was clear that what she had offered him and what he had taken were two very different things.

“I place you under arrest for treason against the Empire,” he snarled, hands gripping hers and pulling her back into the city. She kicked and screamed and fought like hell to be free of him, but her gloved fists were no match against the Garlean steel that protected his body. Finally she stilled in realizing there was nothing she could do. It was in her best interest to follow him and conserve her strength for the perfect opportunity when his guard would be down.

This wasn’t her first time being arrested by Garlean scum. She would make sure it wouldn’t be her last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY I get to introduce Nero in all his asshole (and clever) glory <3


	10. Chapter 10

“Carine? Carine, are you there? Can you hear me?”

Minfilia was pacing the length of the chapel, finger to her ear and eyes writ with worry as she tried to touch base with the one Scion yet still on her mission. It had only been a full day since she had departed, but with the arrival of Biggs and Wedge and the  _ Enterprise, _ the Antecedent wanted her to check in and make sure that they hadn’t been followed or detected in their reckless journey. 

“Relax. Carine gets herself into these troubles all the time. She’ll find a way out of it,” Lyse said soothingly from the other side of the room. 

Dainty was of a mind to agree. How many times in the last year had that Elezen found herself locked in a dungeon below Limsa Lominsa or Ul’dah thanks to that sharp tongue? More times than she cared to count and enough times to have a stash of lockpicks stored away in each and every cell.

Minfilia sighed heavily, shoulders slumping as the weight of her worry crushed her. It was rare to see her so defeated, though Dainty and the other Scions knew she felt this way when any of them were out in the field and hadn’t reported back when they were supposed to. Sensing her distress, Dainty did the only thing she felt might help by reaching out her hand and guiding her friend to the lounge to relax and take deep breaths. It wouldn’t fix the problem, but it was at least a start.

“Lyse is right, you know,” she crooned, gently rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. “Give her a couple of days to convince them she has nothing to do with us and she’ll be back before you know it.”

“I should send someone to check on her just in case,” the Highlander said. Everyone in the room knew it would do little good. Showing too much interest in the prisoners taken by the Garleans usually resulted in more suspects rather than provide them with more answers. “Riol knows Limsa well…”

Dainty shook her head and wagged her finger. “The last time you sent him he had to disappear for a week! He’s only just recently been able to come back out this way. Best let him take a break from chasing after the girl and keeping her foot out of her bloody mouth.”

“I could go,” Y’shtola offered.

Minfilia denied the request with a shuddering sigh. “No. We cannot risk losing more of you with the marks. I should have known better than to send Carine.”

“She got herself in this mess, she damn well better get herself out,” Dainty quickly dashed that line of thinking. “It’s no one’s fault but her own.” 

If it weren’t for the fact that this wasn’t some variance of normal for Carine, the Au’Ra might’ve already packed up her axe and went on a spree to break her out of jail and drag her back by the tips of her ears for making Minfilia worry. She had half a mind to do it anyway, but they had time and the Elezen was resourceful. 

Instead she leaned her head on the Hyur’s shoulder and continued holding her hand giving whatever comfort she could in letting her know their friend would be fine. It wasn’t to last however, as Cid opened the door to the chapel and allowed himself in, stopping short upon seeing them on the couch together. His face was an amusing mix of emotions changing so quickly it was difficult to imagine which was winning out.

“Did you need me for something?” Dainty made no move to leave her spot. She was quite comfortable and as far as she was concerned, Minfilia likely needed her more than he did.

“I-uh, yes?” He reached back to scratch behind his head, eyes looking anywhere but her. “Actually, just anyone would do. I’m trying to get an accurate map of the place.”

Dainty lifted her head and looked towards Y’shtola, “Didn’t Alphinaud have one already made?”

“Aye. If you had a need for it, you simply had to ask,” the Miqo’te barely flicked her gaze over him before going back to her reports. 

Cid, rather than asking or making a move to the table where a map of Eorzea sat to look for what he needed, simply stood in the middle of the room with no real sense of direction. It was rather sweet, she figured as she considered his discomfort in their presence.

All the Scions had an important part to play in this grand operation. Carine, Dainty, and Lyse were the brawn. When jobs came up that were likely to get dirty, they were the three sent in to see them through. Thancred and Riol could easily be lumped in with the brawn, but their skills were far more useful in the art of spying rather than outright fighting. They focused on getting information that the others otherwise couldn’t, dropping it on the desk, and leaving without so much as a word. 

Y’shtola, Urianger, and Papalymo were the brains. They were the ones that spent their days scouring over all the information delivered from the spies or uncovered from the Scions that excavated the Wanderer’s Palace in search of clues on what this city of Nym was supposed to be used for. It was why most days that Lyse wasn’t actively out in the field, she was curled up on the couch playing with Y’shtola’s hair or napping beside her, anything to just be close to the woman she was bonded to.

And then there was Alphinaud, Alisaie, and Minfilia. While Minfilia acted as the mouthpiece and leader of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, the twins were unique in their jobs. They did the most exploring around the city to uncover secrets that had been lost to time and weather. Their main focus was to learn as much about soulmates and their bonds as possible to help acclimate the others that would inevitably join them. As such, their wanderings had provided the Scions with a clear map of everything they discovered as well as tunnels they were planning to explore next.

“Here you are,” she smiled sweetly at him, holding the rolled map a moment longer as he reached for it. “Might I ask what you have planned with such important information?”

Intimidated, he released the cloth and dropped his hands to his side looking every bit the part of a chastised child. “I was hoping to see where the other stone platforms like yours were located, maybe find a connection since it seemed important.”

Dainty smirked and handed it over to him, this time releasing it to his custody. While the others weren’t quite convinced that he was fully on their side, she had no reason to believe he wasn’t. Ever since Biggs and Wedge had arrived the day before, he had been most agreeable to anything and everything asked of him and had even been among the first outside this morning to survey her little platform. 

“Shall we be going then?” she offered, her body already turned and ready to head out the door. 

It had barely registered in his mind that she had been speaking to him as she left, leaving Cid standing there in the middle of the room like a fool before he collected his wits and dashed off after her. 

He didn’t know what in seven hells to think about this woman. She constantly kept him on his toes with surprise after surprise and more often than not, they were in his favor. Her kindness towards him, the generosity in tracking down his assistants, the trust she had in him as she placed a very detailed map of their hideout in his Garlean hands, all of it was more than he deserved. 

He just couldn’t fathom  _ why. _

There was nothing he could do in a lifetime to repay her for returning to him what had been lost. Even if he were capable of restoring this ancient relic, he wouldn’t feel the price paid. She had given him a piece of his old life back, a part of him he had long since abandoned because he hadn’t had a choice.

But  _ how? _

It was absolutely impossible for her to have known anything about Biggs and Wedge and his ship. He had never mentioned their names and barely even allowed himself to remember their faces after he had forced them to leave Garlemald to never return. He was sure neither Gaius nor Nero could remember who his former assistants had been, so how did an Eorzean with absolutely no ties to the Empire come across such sensitive information?

Dainty walked ahead of him a few paces, tail and hips swaying with every step. Today she was wearing yet another pretty dress, this one a deep green, and it fit her petite form perfectly. He couldn’t help but admire the long slit up its side revealing the mark they shared and the peek-a-boo of scales on her thighs. He found himself wondering just how much of her was covered in scales and whether or not they were thick and hard like those of a dragon, or soft and smooth like those of a snake. It was rather difficult to tell from where he stood…

“Cid?” 

Lost in his wonder, he had barely registered that the pretty Auri had stopped. He rocked back on his heels to avoid plowing her over and quickly averted his gaze from the revealing slit of her dress before he gave her the wrong idea. 

Hells, didn’t he  _ have _ the wrong idea for shamelessly staring in the first place?

“Er-yes?” He looked around and found they were back in his room. Stupid, blind, bloody fool he was for not paying more attention...or at least not paying enough attention to his  _ surroundings _ . 

“I asked where you might want to put the map,” she curled her lips into a small half smile, like a tiny taunt that suggested he might not have been so subtle as he’d hoped.

_ Map? What map-? Oh! _ Cid blushed deeply as she reached to take the cloth from his hands that he had been clutching so tightly. “I think the workbench is large enough,” he muttered in an attempt to mask the embarrassment in his voice as he collected himself, feeling every bit the blubbering fool around the Au’Ra.

She studied him for a few minutes, the magenta of her eyes lined with bright orange staring just a moment too long for his liking before she shrugged and spread it out over his tools with care. “I’d be careful with this if I were you,” her voice erred on caution as she glanced at him over her shoulder. “Alphinaud will likely string you up by your toes if he finds so much as a stain.”

“Thanks for the warning,” he nodded, blue eyes already scanning the page. 

It wasn’t the best thing to use as a reference for what he needed. He’d only been at the Wanderer’s Palace for a few days, and only the last day had been of his own free will thanks to the arrival of Biggs and Wedge. He had spent the greater part of the morning exploring some of the bigger tunnels that were used more and happening upon a couple of the other platforms, but hadn’t truly made a dent in the place. 

What he  _ did _ know however, was that the city of Nym was not in the exact condition it had been when they had created the weapon or machine or whatever it was centuries ago. Ozma had done a hell of a job obliterating the city and sending scattered pieces of it into the sky to create floating islands. That meant Cid had a hell of a job trying to discern the exact shape and structure of the city before the explosion had taken place. 

He pulled out some more paper that had been given to him and started trying to sketch out the views from around the island based on the map on his table. It was not an easy task seeing as it was mostly just a map of passages that had been explored rather than a detailed overview of the place they were standing on. 

“Anything I can help you with?” Dainty offered from beside him, her slight body leaning close to his as she looked over his own sketches and the original map. It seemed his every nerve knew exactly where she was touching him tensing his body as her shoulder pressed against his arm innocently. 

“If you can magically pull sketches of how this place looks on the outside, then absolutely,” he cleared his throat and tried to focus back on the task at hand. There was no reason to be caught up in how close she was or the sweet, almost pastry-like scent of her as he inhaled.

Dainty sort of huffed beside him and pulled away making him feel the loss of her contact immediately. He turned to see her glaring pointedly, eyes narrowed just a bit to show her annoyance. “Am I even allowed to?” she asked with her hands on her hips. 

It took a few moments to understand what she meant, and immediately he felt like an ass for mentioning the use of magic so carelessly. “Shit, Dainty, I didn’t mean anything-”

And then she grinned, eyes lighting up like a burning sunset with bright orange and deep purples. Her laughter was like bells in a breeze, melodic and pure as she rested her hand on his and stopped him from apologizing further. “I jest,” she smiled sweetly, and he suddenly found it rather difficult to take a deep breath. “Might take me a few to weave my  _ magic, _ but I think I can conjure something up that might satisfy this need.”

Her fingers slid from his hand, their warmth lingering as she turned and left him behind to stare after her dumbfounded. How in seven hells was he supposed to read her moods when she could switch from serious to joking with a snap of a finger? 

Dainty was gone for half a bell before turning back up with what looked like a sketch book in her hands. While she was away, he had taken the liberty to see if there was any chance dinner could be delivered to his room for them to share while he looked over whatever it was she had “conjured” up. She seemed pleasantly surprised at the plates settled in the middle of his bed, safely away from the map, and even more keen on the wine bottle setting on the small table beside his bed. 

It had been a suggestion made by one of the many people around the palace that Dainty loved her wine.

“What’s this?” he asked as she shoved the sketch book in his arms, her attention focused on the bottle and now uncorking it. 

“You asked if I could magically get you those sketches. Abracadabra,” she giggled, eyes widening as the cork made an audible pop. “But I have to warn you, Alphinaud really will kill you if anything happens to that...or we don’t have it returned before he comes in for the night.”

“Do I even wish to know how you came about this?” He paled as he looked over the leather bound book in his hands. 

“Nope.”

_ Don’t ask questions, noted, _ he thought to himself as he carefully opened the book and began to flip through the pages. It was a bit of a shock, at first, seeing different people’s faces rather than sketches of the island. The charcoal drawings were impressive with a keen eye for detail, Cid realized, when he happened upon one of Carine and her perpetual scowl whenever he was around. He tried not to linger too long upon Dainty’s own portrait, not that she would even notice given the tall glass of wine she had poured for herself, but he wasn’t keen on appearing  _ too _ interested. 

Several pages in he found what he was looking for. Whoever this Alphinaud was, he excelled in drawing detailed landscapes from several different angles. He couldn’t help but smile as he immediately began copying the basic outline of each page onto pages of his own for safekeeping, though if he wanted to create a model of the entire island…

“What I wouldn’t give for some Garlean technology right now,” he mused aloud. With the right program, he could easily just scan these images and have them loaded into a computer for him to piece together as he liked. 

But it was all wishful thinking. The Eorzeans simply didn’t have this technology readily available to them even if they were interested. It was all to keep them from developing their own programs. It wouldn’t do if the people they had subjugated found a way to use their tech against them. Likewise, the Scions wouldn’t dare entrust something that would allow him to contact his superior, or track him to their location.

“Thinking of leaving so soon?” he turned to see Dainty smirking at him from the bed, a large roll pinched between her fingers and a cheek full of bread. 

Well, Cid didn’t quite know what to make of her. It was an almost childlike innocence...if it weren’t for the glass of wine she reached for to wash everything down, and yet there was a grace to her movements.

“Actually, I was just thinking about how it would make all of this much easier,” he motioned to the table. “One scan of each page and I could have everything put together before the day was up.”

“And you can’t do that now?”

Cid shook his head and smiled as he found it easier to relax with her feeling quite at home in his room with her plate of food and wine. “I’m good, but not  _ that _ good. It will take much longer than a day, more like a week since I have to factor in all these smaller fragments,” he explained. “And that’s not including the time it would take for me to make a replica of what I manage to come up with, if it’s accurate at all…”

The more he talked about it, the more daunting the task became. He would have to request materials and tools they might not be willing to let him borrow just to make the replica. It wasn’t as though they really had a choice in the matter however, since it was their bright idea to bring him here. It would either be his way or not at all, sans the Garlean equipment. 

“Sounds like you have a lot of work ahead of you,” she said quietly from behind him. He nodded solemnly, still not quite as eager to get started as he had been this morning. A tap on his shoulder had him turning around to see Dainty standing there with one of the plates in her hand and another glass of wine in the other. “Mayhap you should eat before your food gets too cold?”

Again, she surprised him with the thoughtfulness he didn’t think she should have shown towards him. He’d say the Empire could learn a thing or two about taking prisoners and convincing them over to their side, but they lacked the heart and the passion these Scions did. Or at least this one particular Scion. 

Carine could find herself in a ditch and he might not particularly care.

“I’ll take the food, but the wine is yours,” he smiled. “Can’t have my mind hazy when trying to work out these details, lass.”

This brought out an even bigger grin as she passed the plate off to him and sipped the red liquid with satisfaction. “I was hoping you might say that.”

He put his pen down long enough to eat her offered plate, though he didn’t make for idle conversation. That didn’t stop Dainty from asking questions, mostly pertaining to the type of equipment he preferred to use for the imaging he wished he had. Her interest surprised him, but Cid wasn’t one to question it too much as he explained it at great length. It was an easy topic of conversation for him and seemed to satisfy her seemingly burning curiosity.

When he finished, Dainty gathered the dishes and the sketchbook before Alphinaud realized it was missing. He didn’t have everything copied yet, but he had a good start, so the Garlean began trying to piece together what he had in hopes of getting a base idea. At some point, the Au’Ra had quietly returned, her presence known only from the occasional question or the odd favor of bringing him water or a new pencil when his had broken.

Cid hadn’t a clue as to the time when weariness finally crept in his bones and made itself known. He figured it had to have been late, he hadn’t heard from Dainty in bells and it seemed that any activity within the palace itself had died down. His hands slid through his hair and his fingers rubbed at his tired eyes before finally deciding that it was time for bed.

Except there was one  _ slight _ problem, he realized as he turned around.

When Dainty had fallen asleep, he hadn’t a clue. In all honesty, he had figured she had long since excused herself to go sleep in her own quarters, not just curl up with her head on his pillow. 

Seven hells, what was he supposed to  _ do? _

The Garlean in him wanted to wake her up and send her out of the room so he could finally get some well earned sleep. He’d been working most of the day doing what they wanted, after all, but the other part of him wanted nothing more than to just watch her rest and keep from disturbing her. 

Eventually he decided it was best to just let her be. Tonight wouldn’t be the first time he had stayed up past the point of weariness to complete a project and if he played his cards right, it wouldn’t be the last.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I’ll do what I do best,” she grinned mischievously. “I’ll make a mess of things.”_

Nero observed the savage he captured from a small room adjacent to the one she was currently in. She looked the part, her silvery-white hair tousled and falling haphazardly out of the long braid down her back, bits of dried blood trailing from her ravaged earlobe down the length of her neck, her eyes challenging him defiantly through the magitek glass he knew she couldn’t see through. Her clothes were ripped and crumpled from the supposed fight she participated in the night before, somehow establishing dominance over the worst criminals Limsa had to offer. He had even been told she’d been sleeping quite peacefully on her cot this morning while the other prisoners were resting on the cold stone floor when they had gone to fetch her for questioning. 

The Garlean general was not quite sure what to make of that.

“The reports you ordered, my lord,” the centurio saluted as he entered the room. Nero reached out and took the papers from his hands, blue eyes scanning the sheets with mild interest that grew with each turn of the page. 

“Rather the busy body, isn’t she?” he mused. 

“One of the worst.”

“And why is it she is always released?” Nero turned around, eyes narrowing at his subordinate with disappointment. Someone with the reputation this Carine Monteil had should have been detained and stayed that way. 

The other man balked, not wanting to get in bad graces with a Tribunus Laticlavius. “M-my lord, according to the legislation, we are only to detain those that present a direct threat to the Empire.”

“And does this not look as though it is a direct threat?” he waved the stack of papers in his face and then motioned to the line of weapons they had pulled off her person upon her arrest. The small table was full of poison vials, various daggers, and a multitude of throwing knives that no normal person carried. Even adventurers, to which she claimed likeness, didn’t carry around half as many weapons. 

“N-no, my lord. She is a nuisance, but has never been violent towards my men, or those from the other city-states…”

“You mean to tell me these are only the reports from Limsa Lominsa?” Nero pinched his brow and sighed. Idiots. The entire lot of them were dimmer than half of these Eorzean barbarians combined. “And there was no speculation she might be among the Scions of the Seventh Dawn?”

The centurio shook his head, “She claims to have no ties to the group. Foolish lot, I believe she called them. She simply just appears to hate us.”

People in other nations had been arrested and indefinitely detained on lesser grounds than what she had given as an excuse in the capital and in Doma, but then again Gaius van Baelsar was of a mind to try and invoke peace among their people. Ruthless he might be, but he was pragmatic first and foremost.

_ If you want something right, you might as well do it yourself, _ Nero grumbled to himself as he tried to rub at the burning mark on his lower hip. While the only command Gaius had given him was to find his precious Grand Minister of Industry, he wasn’t about to let the opportunity of following a trail that might lead him to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn pass him by. He could just imagine the stoic delight of his Legatus and potentially the whisper of a promotion in his future because it had been  _ he _ that brought low the meddlesome rebels. 

Nero van Scaeva. Now  _ that _ had a nice ring to it.

Clever eyes met his the moment he stepped into the room, a confident smirk painted firmly on her lips acted as her greeting. She was comfortable, too comfortable. Nero wasn’t fond of that.

“You appear to be quite the trouble maker,” he paused on the other side of the table with his hands folded behind his back. 

“Someone needs to be a thorn in the Empire’s side,” she smiled prettily. At the same moment, his side throbbed. 

He glared at her a moment wondering if perhaps she was somehow manipulating aether right there in the very room, but her hands were tied and all her weapons had already been removed so he shrugged it off. “So tell me, where are the Scions of the Seventh Dawn?”

Her silvery brows puckered, lines of confusion wrinkling her forehead as she gave a shake of her head. “Is that what this is about? You think I am among the rebels?”

“I believe your words were ‘someone needs to be a thorn in the Empire’s side’, yes?” He turned and smirked. “And your reputation for being such precedes you.”

The Elezen’s face softened as she graced him with another pretty smile. “Good try, tinhead, but alas, I know not what you speak of.”

“Is that so? Because I have every reason to believe you  _ are _ a rebel.”

“Oh gee, I wonder what gave  _ that _ away,” she chuckled, never losing an onze of her composure or her confidence. She acted as if she had nothing to fear from him or this room. It was a problem he would see rectified.

Nero turned and slammed his hands down on the table, “So you admit to being among them!”

Contrary to his intentions, the prisoner didn’t jump or jerk or blink. She simply stared at him curiously before shaking her head, “Do you honestly believe the Scions of the Seventh Dawn would be daft enough to incorporate me into their ranks? Their type of rebellion speaks of a certain subtly that I clearly lack.  _ My _ type of rebellion is far more open than anything they have done.”

His eyes narrowed. This was a ruse, a game to throw him off the trail. Of course it would make sense that the Scions wouldn’t look for someone like her because all she did was bring attention to herself, but that was also the exact line of thinking that made him reconsider. As far as he could see, she was also the perfect sort of distraction to keep the soldiers occupied thinking she was going to be some threat so the Scions could gather information or do something to counter the Garleans that occupied their homeland. 

The problem was getting her to break. 

Nero took a deep breath and exhaled. If he continued questioning her without a backup plan, she would keep talking him around in circles. Being a man with an attention to detail most others of his race lacked, he wasn’t interested in whatever game she was playing. He had her records and he had all day so if he had to spend the next however many bells finding out exactly which strings to pull with her, he would gladly do it. 

Garlond could wait at least another day.

“Send for her records from the other city-states,” he ordered as he pushed through the door leaving her smug face behind while reaching to rub his burning hip. There was bound to be something they missed when looking over them, or they never cared enough to bring her to heel as they should have done from the beginning. If Nero were to be promoted to  _ van _ and given jurisdiction over any one of the three city-states, he would make sure they would pay for their inaction against a threat to the Empire. 

That, and for making him have to work for this. Really, it seemed no one could function without him having to step in and point them in the right direction these days.

It took the greater part of the morning before Nero finally found what he was looking for. She was tricky, that was certain, and more cunning than he ever wished to give a savage credit for. Carine seemed to dance along the fine lines of order and rebellion, plucking that very line whenever it seemed to suit her. He might have even described it as an artform given the impressive lengths she had gone through to avoid imprisonment. 

Why, he almost admired her.

Admiration only went so far however, and Nero was absolutely certain she knew more about the Scions of the Seventh Dawn than she let on. Being the skilled fighter she was and her access to all three city-states thanks to her adventuring background, there was little doubt in his mind the Scions had sought her out to join their ranks. Most importantly, he learned, her primary skill was unparalleled archery. It might take some more digging and it might take some extra persuasion, but she could very well be the missing link in Garlond’s sudden disappearance.

“So you were born and raised in Gridania, is that correct?” Nero asked as he entered the interrogation room for what he hoped would be the last time today. 

“Well Menphina slap my ass and call me sweetheart! I didn’t realize you tinheads could read! Thought maybe that third eye might have been getting in the way, you know, tripping you up,” Carine curled her lips into a mocking grin. 

The smile on his face had faltered, her brazen insults to his kind grating on every last one of his nerves. Her execution could not come soon enough, if her crimes fit the punishment. He certainly hoped so. “Believe you me, I was rather impressed your kind were able to write at all. Surprise aside, I find it rather  _ fascinating _ that you were a Wood Wailer and a member of the Twin Adders which meant you fought against the Empire some few years ago.”

“I fail to see how that is so fascinating. My background mimics almost every other military background in Eorzea.”

“Yes, but most of the others willingly joined our ranks. You, however, refused and went back to being a Wood Wailer, yes?”

She shrugged, “If that’s what your third eye tells you.”

“And up until the last two years, you were a model citizen. In fact, you never once stepped out of line,” Nero folded his hands behind his back as he paced the length of the room. “But now you have extensive records of various crimes in all three city-states. I wonder, what changed?”

“You’re the one that can read, remember?” she sneered from where she sat, eyes narrowed menacingly as she followed his every movement. “I’m just a filthy  _ savage.” _

“I think you were approached by the Scions and I think they have you working under their employ as a distraction,” he leaned over the table, his eyes meeting hers so that she could feel the weight of his accusation. He had dealt with the likes of her kind before when he had first been promoted under Gaius in Ala Mhigo. If people were going to rebel, one knew who they were almost right away. They didn’t bow their heads and bend the knee the moment the Garleans knocked on their door; they fought and went down kicking and screaming. 

But that didn’t mean those were the only kinds of rebels. There were also those that had been too afraid to fight yet bided their time until conditions were more favorable. If his guess was correct, and he would soon know, then she fell under the latter form of rebellion. 

“And I think you are grasping for whatever makes you think you will be recognized,” she countered, still not the least bit bothered by the bind she was currently in. 

No matter, she would regret not cooperating soon enough.

“So it was not your arrow that struck a Garlean airship out of the sky almost a week ago?” He asked, carefully awaiting a reaction. “I needn’t remind you the punishment for such a feat.”

She rolled her eyes. “As if an arrow could bring down one of your ships.” 

Defiant to the last and lying through her teeth. There hadn’t been any surprise in her eyes upon hearing just  _ how _ the ship crashed despite there being no news circulating it had been something as trivial as an arrow. Still, if she wished to play this game, he would be more than happy to oblige her.

“I’ve sent word to the squadron stationed in Gridania,” Nero gathered the papers he had dropped on the desk. “Perhaps your mother or that pretty younger sister of yours might know more than you.”

As predicted, the color immediately drained from her face at the realization he had the power to take them into custody dawned on her. A shame she hadn’t given thought that he might stoop to such a level, not that he would ever consider it stooping. Whatever it took to put the Empire first and bring about order to the entire world, he was willing to sacrifice. 

That and moving up through the ranks as he saw fit.

“They wouldn’t know anything,” she said, her voice already dropping in pitch and developing an edge that hadn’t been there before. “They are less than useless to you.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he grinned. “Elezen are quite favored among the troops, or so I’ve heard and your mother is not too old while your sister is not too young-”

In a flurry of movement, the Elezen had jumped to her feet and attempted to lunge at him. Nero didn’t budge as her chains pulled her to a quick halt just ilms from him, her eyes wild and dangerous. Lips trembled with fury and her face flushed with rage and hatred that was bubbling just below the surface. 

“Have I struck a nerve?” His voice was as cool and collected as it had been from the moment he walked in this second time. Oh yes, he most certainly had the upper hand now in dealing with the likes of her. 

“If you so much as lay a finger, or even  _ look _ in their direction-”

Nero stopped her with a finger to her lips, flinching only slightly as his mark seared on his skin at the contact. She was angry, deliriously so as she tugged against her bindings with murder in her heart for him. “Now, now, let’s not make threats we cannot carry out. Besides, we both know what the punishment is for threatening a Garlean officer,” he gently reminded her.

Teeth snapped at his finger, but he was too quick for her to have latched on. “It’s not a threat. It’s a bloody  _ promise. _ I swear on my own life and theirs that if they are harmed, I will fucking  _ kill _ you and make you suffer for it.”

He believed every drop of venom she spat at him, but knew she would never get the chance. “Too bad you aren’t in a position to be making such promises. We leave for Ala Mhigo in two bells where you will be questioned and put under trial by Gaius van Baelsar. There is no need to remind you what crimes you have committed, you seem well enough aware.”

She curled her lip, her purple eyes darkening in an instant as she retreated two steps backward. “Mark my words, Garlean, I’ll be out of these bindings before the sun sets. Your bells are numbered.”

“Yes, well, I suppose we shall see about that,” Nero nodded curtly toward her and opened the door to leave her wallowing in the mess she had put herself in. 

There was yet work to be done if he were to see that promotion before next year.

***

Ok, so maybe not  _ all _ Garleans were complete and utter idiots. It was too late to have learned that as Carine was now all too painfully aware as she paced the length of her cell. She was completely sure that blond asshole from before was already well on his way to gathering her mother and Violaine to use against her. He looked the type that would harm innocents if it meant getting what he wanted. Hells, her ear was still throbbing anytime she accidently brushed it with her hands while running them through her hair thanks to him ripping out her earring. 

This was a mess. A right fucking mess, but not a mess she couldn’t get herself out of. Being arrested as many times as she had before hadn’t just been for a lack of good luck. It was strategic. Minfilia had never been fond of the plan as she considered it too risky in the case any Scion might not make it back out of the prison, but Carine was about to show her this dedication was going to pay off. 

To save her fingers the burn and the evidence, the Elezen pulled one of the metal buttons from her shirt and began to work through one of the specifically marked stones where she knew something special was hidden just for her. She beamed with delight as the stone loosened. A bit more digging and one ruined button later, the stone was out revealing an empty cache. 

Disbelief replaced her smile as she reached in and felt along all the edges just to make sure she hadn’t missed anything. Panic set in, heart rate pumping faster when she realized there was nothing there for her to use. Someone had found her stash and had taken her one key to get out. 

“Lookin’ for somethin’?” a voice behind her asked, and for a moment, Carine froze. One of the Garlean soldiers was standing behind her holding the copy of the key that unlocked most Garlean shackles she had painstakingly placed in this very cell. She couldn’t see his face, but if she were to guess he was wearing a shit eating grin at having outsmarted her.

“You caught me!” she smiled and batted her eyelashes at him. If she wasn’t going to be able to make it out on being sneaky, she could do it several other ways. Garlean soldiers were a depraved lot that rather enjoyed any moment in which an Eorzean girl would offer up a bit of skin or more. 

Carine wasn’t exactly dressed the part of a willing seductress, but popping button by button off her top seemed to have the same effect as anything revealing. Curling her finger to draw him near, she slowly walked towards the bars that separated them. A nibble of her lip, a wide, innocent eyed expression, and soon he would be reaching in to claim his prize.

“You must get so lonely down here guarding all these criminals…” she crooned, blinking up at him sweetly. 

“My lady, you certainly know how to strike a bargain,” the soldier purred through his helmet. There was a confidence and familiarity there that had her fingers paused in undoing the last button of her shirt and hesitating just out of his reach.

She knew that tone. She would know that tone from anywhere.

_ “Thancred?” _ Carine hissed, grabbing her shirt and quickly closing it before he got a peek of anything he should not be seeing. “What in seven bloody hells are you doing here!”

He made sure to look both ways before removing the helmet that had masked his voice, hazel eyes glittering with laughter he couldn’t quite release in their current situation, and then saluted her. “Minfilia sent me here to make sure you had a sure way of getting out,” he explained, his gaze rolling down her body as she quickly did up the buttons of her shirt. “And full glad am I she did. Is this why Riol always offers to come to your rescue?”

“Ass,” she scowled. “You could have just told me it was you.”

“And miss seeing the lovely art of seduction for my eyes only? I think not,” the Hyur winked and grinned, passing along the key through the bars and watching as she slipped it under her glove.

Had it not been for the elation upon seeing a familiar face or the fact he had brought her the key she was desperately looking for, Carine might’ve punched him. “I don’t know whether to kill you or kiss you right now.”

Thancred could hardly stifle his chuckle, “I’d prefer the kiss, but I have no interest in cleaning up your vomit for having to kiss anyone dressed as a Garlean.”

She supposed he had a point. “How long have you been here anyway?”

“Long enough to know they did a complete sweep of this place not long after the Tribunus Laticlavius arrived,” he replied. “They found all your caches and made sure to empty them.”

_ Shit. _ That wasn’t ideal. This Nero guy was going to be a bigger pain in her ass than she originally realized. Had it not been for Minfilia’s strategic planning and Thancred’s impressive ability to infiltrate Garlean ranks without suspicion, she would have been in a tight spot in meeting her deadline to be free. 

Which reminded her…

“Thancred, I need you to do whatever it takes to get my mother and Violaine out of Gridania,” Carine ordered. 

He shook his ash blond hair and crossed his arms over his chest, “No can do. My orders were to free you from this cell and see you back to the palace where you can be reprimanded by all of the Scions and likely get a good bash on the head from Dainty for making Minfilia worry so much.”

“Sorry to disappoint them and you, but Nero is going after them so that I’ll talk,” she informed him. “And unless I know they are safe, the Scions are not.”

Thancred sighed and pinched his brow. He knew she spoke true, any of the Scions would. There were few things Carine held sacred above all else, but her family was the pinnacle of it all. “And what are you going to do? They plan on taking you to Ala Mhigo.”

“I’ll do what I do best,” she grinned mischievously. “I’ll make a mess of things.”


	12. Chapter 12

Cid pressed his hands to his hips and looked at the rubble with a frown. Nothing in this place was where it belonged because if his calculations were right, there was  _ supposed _ to be another platform here. All he could see was a pile of broken stones and an obliterated wall.

“Oi! Keep your hands to yourself, ya bafoon!” Reta’li, a feisty Keeper of the Moon growled from the doorway behind him. “We’re supposed to be finding the other few platforms we’re missing.”

“I can’t help it if you keep stopping short in front of me,” Alrek, a tall, broad Hyurian male replied gruffly.

Cid sighed. The two of them had been going at it since his crew had been paired with them to navigate some of the tunnels still to be excavated. Apparently they were soulmates as well, but that was hard to believe considering their near constant bickering. Try as he might to tune them out, nothing seemed to help. 

He needed silence. Sweet, blessed silence.

“Are you sure it’s supposed to be here, Chief?” Wedge asked, hopping up on one of the fallen pieces and looking around. “Cause I don’t see anything.”

Cid wasn’t sure it was here. Even after managing to copy all of the sketches carefully stolen by Dainty, he still wasn’t even sure what these things meant or why they reacted to anyone with a mark. Reta’li and Alrek had tried to explain it as best they could, seeing as they were the first to actually discover the reaction during their treasure hunting days, but they seemed to know just as much as he did.

Their theory, he had to admit, was sound. If each person who carried a mark had a corresponding platform that only allowed them upon it, then it stood to reason there should be twelve platforms. The Scions had only managed to uncover five. 

It was no easy task in trying to locate them either. It was impossible to know where these platforms were supposed to be located within the city which made it impossible to accurately predict where they might be after the destruction. If he had even just  _ one _ piece of Garlean imaging technology they had managed to derive from the ancient Allagans, then he was sure he would be able to create an actual replica of the city of Nym before its destruction. If he had that, it would be easy to locate where the plates should be and then mark where they ended up to directly link them to get the ancient relic working.

At least that was  _ his _ theory. What twelve people with matching marks and some weird itching they did when close to each other had to do with powering a weapon was still a question left unanswered.

“Keep looking. We have about several hundred fulms in diameter to work with,” he finally replied earning groans from everyone present. They were well earned. He had been the one to suggest they split into teams to cover more ground around the points of interest he had marked on the map. He could have reminded them it was impossible to make this an exact science when so much of the city remained unexplored. 

What had the Scions even been doing for the past several years?

“Might we take a break?” Reta’li sat upon a rock and twitched his blond tail fiercely. “We’ve been at this all day.”

“Sooner we uncover the platform, the sooner you can retire to your rooms for the evening.” Ever the faithful hard worker, Biggs continued moving massive rocks with the same vigor he had when they had first started on this tunnel. Wedge, not to be outdone by his large friend, helped by collecting the smaller rocks and debris that got in the way. 

Cid couldn’t help but chuckle at their determination. How he had missed their antics and their desire to do whatever it took to see a job done. He still wasn’t sure how Dainty had managed to know anything about them. They had been keeping their heads low and had been just as surprised to see her knocking on their door as Cid had when they had flown in on his  _ Enterprise. _

He didn’t even think he had thanked her.

Several bells and buckets of sweat later, and they had only just started making a dent in the room missing its one wall. A slight breeze was their only relief as the five of them took a much needed and well deserved break. 

Sweat plastered Cid’s hair to his face and neck. He lifted his goggles that covered his third eye and wiped his brow, dimly aware of the stares coming from the bonded pair sitting opposite of him. It was hard to blame them, Garleans were the cause of all their current problems and he was man enough to admit that, but they could at least try and see the solutions they also brought with them. 

Rather than start an argument or try and get them to see reason in his logic, he suffered their pointed stares in silence. At least they weren’t Carine.

A flapping of wings alerted their attention from the cuts and blisters on their hands to a Chocobo landing just outside the missing wall. Wedge was the first to look to see who had joined them, his face lighting up as he waved and grinned with delight. Cid followed his Lalafell assistant and found himself face to face with Dainty. 

Well, more like his chest to her face. Hells, she was  _ tiny. _

“I brought some fresh water and cookies,” she smiled warmly, tossing a sack toward Biggs. “Figured you were hungry and overworked like the others.”

He didn’t know quite what to say to that as he watched her return to her saddlebags and pull out more sacks to pass around. She smiled and chatted with each person as she handed them the baked goods while dressed almost like a bloody goddess. 

Maybe she was.

Cid took his cookies and the cool water and helped himself. Still warm from being fresh out of the oven, he broke one in half and breathed in the soft, sweet scent. The confection practically melted on his tongue as he took a bite. There was a sharp hint of lemon accompanying the sugary goodness, and he was quite sure he had never tasted anything quite so pleasant.

“You like it?” Dainty asked, making herself comfortable at his side as she nibbled on her own cookie.

He nodded and swallowed, “Send the baker my regards.”

“Why thank you,” she giggled, the bubbly sound growing louder as he registered what she had said. 

So she could wield an axe, dress like a goddess, bake cookies, and own the name Dainty?

There seemed to be no end of surprises to her.

They fell into silence mostly because Cid wasn’t sure what to say. She was good at making cookies and surprising him, but that seemed hardly the type of compliment he should pay the lady. Wouldn’t do to possibly offend her and taste the sharp edge of her axe for doing so. 

Instead he watched the others take their own seats in pairs. Biggs and Wedge discussed a plan of action in moving the other stones enough so the Lalafell could crawl under and see if there was anything of worth on the other side. Reta’li and Alrek were busy breaking off bits of cookies and feeding them to each other as if there weren’t other people around to watch. He had half a mind to remind them when a hand on his gave him pause.

“Let them be. They aren’t hurting anyone,” Dainty spoke softly, only removing her hand once she had his attention. 

“Such things are hardly proper in Garlemald,” he muttered in defense. Public displays of affection were not to be admired, but to be admonished. What one chose to do with their significant other was all well and good so long as they chose to do them behind closed doors or keep the act to their bedroom. Seeing the two men be so brazenly open with their affection made his skin crawl, if only because he wasn’t quite used to it being expressed for everyone to see.

“Hate to break it to you, but this isn’t Garlemald.” Her words held no bite, their sting lessened by the warmth of her eyes as she looked back to the pair. Reta’li’s blond tail had since curled around the leg of his Hyurian partner, his nose wrinkled in laughter and cat ears dancing on his head at something the other had said. 

No, this wasn’t Garlemald.

“Thanks for the refreshment,” he said as he stood. He truly meant it, but the words had come out more hollow than he intended. Being reminded he wasn’t home stung. It wasn’t perfect and the leadership could definitely use some work, but it was all he had ever known. Strange how he could be surrounded by glittering beaches and crystal clear waters and still miss the icy caps of Garlemald more than he appreciated being here.

“When you’re done here, I have something for you in your room,” Dainty said, either missing his melancholy or simply ignoring it as she made her way back to the Chocobo pecking at the ground. 

Cid wondered what else the Au’Ra could have in store for him. She had done enough already as far as he was concerned and he was still the ass that hadn’t thanked her for reuniting him with his lost friends. He wanted to kick himself as he watched her mount up and fly off without a backwards glance. He knew damn well she hadn’t meant anything by what she said and yet he let her words wound him and prick at his pride. 

Alas, there was nothing to be done about it now as he began picking up the stones and getting back to work. He’d see her later tonight and make sure that he thanked her for her kindness and let that be the end of it.

***

It had all been for nothing. All the sweat, all the cuts and blisters, all the muffled curses he had strung out through the course of the afternoon had been for absolutely nothing. 

There had been no bloody platform in that room, nor had there been even a hint of one nearby. Cid was tired, sweaty and knew he would ache for the next week after all the work he had put in for naught. Somewhere along the lines, his calculations had been off, that or the sketches he had copied were not as accurate as they seemed. Maybe they were. It didn’t matter, it had been a waste of a perfectly good day.

Rather than head to his room to see whatever it was Dainty had in store for him, Cid went to the baths to try and soak and relax and try not to let this discovery foul his mood. She had brought him cookies and apparently saw fit to bring him a surprise; there was no need to be rude or short with her.

As was to be expected, the baths were already occupied, though not by the high number of Scions and those that pledged loyalty to them. Reta’li and Alrek were already there washing each other’s backs with hushed whispers, but they were not the only ones there. On the other side appeared to be a young Elezen reading some book precariously over the steaming water. 

Cid supposed there was nothing to fear given the two lovebirds were too busy wrapped in each other to pose any threat to the delicate pages the boy studied, but it still wasn’t something he would ever do. The boy looked up just as the Garlean sat and reclined against the edge of the bath. Thankfully he returned to his reading without a second glance, giving Cid enough consideration to wash himself and relax before he would head to his room. 

Upon entering, it was clear Dainty had already made herself at home on his bed while reading over some scrolls that might or might not be important. It was difficult to tell with her. More of the delicious cookies were sitting on a plate beside the bed making him realize just how hungry he was. 

He had been made painfully aware upon his return they still had a few bells before dinner would be ready.

“There you are,” the Au’Ra smiled at him from her next and motioned to the plate without hesitation. “Those might hold you over until the cooks are done preparing supper. Help yourself.”

Cid still wasn’t sure what to make of her. She seemed so relaxed, uncharacteristic for most Eorzeans when in the presence of a Garlean. He was sure it would be impossible to get used to her just popping in and out of his room as she pleased, napping on his bed while he was hard at work trying to piece together the broken bits of a puzzle the size of a city, and bringing him food and water when he typically forgot it himself. Even now she was hardly bothered by his presence as he grabbed a few of the treats and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

“You had something you wanted to show me?”

“Just get to the point already,” she teased, her tail flicking almost playfully as she removed herself from the mattress and grabbed a parcel from the workbench. “Figured you would have gone there first.”

Normally he would have if there hadn’t been a pretty woman spread out over his sheets like she belonged there. Immediately his cheeks flushed red at the image his mind decided to conjure up. Minty hair a mess, dress trussed up to reveal scaled thighs, eyes blown wide as her finger curled, beckoning him to join…

“I hadn’t realized you would be quite  _ that _ happy with it,” her voice broke him out of his reverie and if he thought he had been blushing before, there were no words for what he was doing now. Thankfully the packaging of the parcel had covered the worst of his reaction to the mental images that came unbidden in his mind, but something had put that impish look in her eyes and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what she meant. 

Instead, he looked down at what he had unwrapped. He was still far too embarrassed over such base thoughts that he couldn’t quite comprehend what was in his hands. Once he did, he had to do a double take.

“Y-you brought me a magitek tablet!?” he exclaimed, nearly dropping the gift in question. Her hands had reached out to catch it just as quickly as his had, her knuckles brushing against his thigh that did nothing for the arousal from earlier.

“Well don’t bloody break it,” she flicked his ear. “Do you know the trouble I went through to get this?”

Cid could damn well imagine. Something like this wasn’t in possession of every Imperial soldier which meant she had gone digging through higher ranked officer offices or found herself a laboratory where some might be kept. Not to mention what she might have had to do to get this in his hands with the permission from the Scions. “But why?” 

It was the only question he could manage to get out. She had likely risked her life to get this tablet and might even be risking her current standing with her friends by placing it in his possession. This was an ultimate sign of blind trust and faith, or complete stupidity, and Cid didn’t believe for a second that Dainty was stupid.

“You said you needed it to get the map right,” she reached over him, hand planted on his thigh for support, so she could grab another cookie. “I figured this would help us more than hinder us. Minfilia thought the same after I convinced her.”

“But I could use this-”

“You won’t,” she stopped him before he could finish his sentence. “You won’t because you saw what one Elemental could do and you won’t because Urianger has found what could be two more wandering La Noscea and Thanalan.”

Cid’s eyes widened at that, and not just because the unpleasant memory of his unit disappearing into dust upset him. “Two more?” Even worse, these Elementals weren’t even in the Twelveswood. What in seven hells were they doing in the other two nations?

Dainty shrugged and popped another piece of lemon cookie in her mouth, “Unconfirmed. It’s just what the aether readings are suggesting until we see them with our own eyes. They may not even be corrupted.”

Somehow he doubted that mattered much. If the texts in Ala Mhigo were anything to go by, it didn’t matter who you were or your intentions; if the Elementals thought you were a danger to their territory, you would face the Greenwrath.

“Then let’s hope I can get this figured out before too long,” he muttered under his breath. The cookies no longer appealed to him with the memory of what the Elementals were capable of fresh on the brain. 

He lifted the tablet and searched for the on switch when a smaller hand reached up and pulled at his. Dainty’s small fingers were tickling his palm as she traced along the cuts and blisters from earlier today. He hated how hyper-aware his body became any time she touched him, even when it was as innocent as this. It wasn’t appropriate, nor was it fair that she had this effect on him without intention. Try as he might to be a gentleman, it was hard when all he could think of now was what her scales would feel like under his hands. 

“I could heal this for you, if you like?” she offered quietly, eyes never leaving his calloused fingers. 

“There’s no need for that, lass,” he assured her, gently tugging his hand from her grasp. “They’ll heal in time.”

A flash of disappointment in her eyes was soon gone as she shrugged and leaned back against the bed. “Suit yourself.”

If he didn’t know any better, he might have thought he had offended her. 

A ping from the tablet reminded him of the device in his hands. It was some alert, but Cid thought it best to ignore it with her right there in the room. The last thing he wanted was for her or the other Scions to take away the one familiar piece and link of home he had before he could even scan the programs to see if it had what he was looking for. 

Thankfully, it did.

Cid stood up from the bed and went back to the workstation where the sketchbook Dainty had stolen the night before for him to copy now sat. Not only had she risked herself getting caught by the imperial soldiers, but she had decided he might need the book one last time to get what he needed.

And he  _ still _ hadn’t thanked her.

He was about to open his mouth and do just that when the door to his room swung open and crashed against the wall. The Garlean jumped, instincts kicking in as he grabbed one of the screwdrivers and pointed it towards the door. 

In walked the familiar figure of the young lad from the baths, the one with long white hair tied in a neat braid and soft, delicate features. A grimoire hung at his side as he marched in, his arms crossing over his slight chest as he stared down Dainty in accusation. 

“Where is it?”

“Well hello to you too, Alphinaud. Good to see you are well and whole,” the Au’Ra gave him a look.

“I don’t have time for these games,” the Elezen replied. “It isn’t something you can just take without permission…”

Cid looked down at the open book and then back at Dainty. She was cool and collected as she faced the boy, hardly bothered at all at the accusation thrown her way. 

At least it  _ was _ true.

“Cid needed it for his own project,” she shrugged and motioned to him. “I’m sure he will be done soon?”

Alphinaud turned to him as if now suddenly aware he was even in the room. Blue eyes flashed and narrowed as they honed in on the book in question. When they happened upon the tablet in his hands, they widened in surprise and fear. “Dainty!”

“Calm your horse birds, I had permission from Minfilia.”

The lad let out an exasperated sigh as he pinched his eyes shut. “If Garleans start raining down from the sky-”

“Then they will taste my axe,” she nodded. “So will he.”

Cid backed up, the screwdriver in his hands falling to the floor as he showed his hands. He had nothing to do with this. Okay, maybe a  _ little _ to do with it. The whole thing had been a mere suggestion on his part. “I’m not going to summon the Imperial army.”

This seemed to placate the youth, though not before Cid finally noticed the black mark on the back of his hand. It looked much like his own, almost identical, except he had two darkened marks connected by a thick, black line. 

He hadn’t seen one like that before.

Alphinaud seemed to catch on to his stare, his own eyes wandering to the back of his hand and recognition flaring. “I have heard much about you since your arrival, but I seem to have forgotten to introduce myself. I am Alphinaud Leveilleur, at your service.” He bowed elegantly with all the grace a young Elezen lord might have if not weighted by the oppression created by the Empire. 

“Cid. Cid nan Garlond,” he stammered a response. “Your mark, it isn’t like the others…”

“Of course not. No two marks are exactly alike until a bond has been formed,” Alphinaud replied and held up his hand for a better view. “Should you and Dainty bond, both of yours shall look similar to mine.”

_ So that’s why she looked disappointed after the kiss, _ Cid marveled to himself as he examined the mark. It was clear to see why she had thought it might change. Subtle as it might be, it was significantly different to what they already had. “How does a bond form?”

He could hear Dainty choking on a cookie in the wake of his question, not that it seemed to have any effect on the Elezen as he replied, “A few different ways, one can assume, the most common being from intercourse.”

Cid understood the cough now as his cheeks burned. That explained why Lyse had mentioned the sleeping together thing a few days prior. That very suggestion had haunted many of his waking, and sleeping hours with unwarranted images of Dainty he had no right in thinking. It made sense for the likes of Reta’li and Alrek, the two of them when they weren’t bickering couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It might even make sense for Lyse and Y’shtola...if they were bonded. He hadn’t paid enough attention to their marks to notice.

But Alphinaud was a boy that looked no older than sixteen summers. The thought of him having already found his soulmate and had sex with them was mildly unsettling. Sure, it wasn’t uncommon for teenagers driven by unruly hormones to sleep with whatever gave them the time of day, Cid had been there and done that, but this particular one didn’t seem the sort. 

“Says the one bonded to his sister.”

Both Cid and Alphinaud paled at Dainty’s words as she giggled with glee from the bed. Try as he might not to stare at the boy, Cid found it utterly impossible. He knew the Eorzeans had backwards ways, and he knew the situation in Ishgard with their strange ideas of marrying for advancement meant there was a smaller genepool, but incest…

Alphinaud groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Before you get it into your head, Master Garlond, I have not had sexual relations with my twin. As I said before, there were different ways in which to form a bond, three of which we know so far.”

“Then why did she-”

“Because both of your reactions were bloody hilarious, that’s why,” Dainty chuckled.

“So we don’t have to sleep together to establish a bond?” Cid asked, tugging on his beard. 

“My sister and I are a testament that no, there are such things as platonic soulmates,” Alphinaud answered with a curt nod.

“Thank the Twelve.”

“That’s a relief.”

Both Dainty and Cid paused as they spoke, their gazes meeting from across the room in surprise at the other’s relief. He even dared to feel slightly offended at the sound of satisfaction in her voice as she thanked her gods. 

_ I know the third eye can be off putting, _ he thought to himself as he broke eye contact to look at the floor. He had simply been relieved that he didn’t have to worry about crushing her petite form or having to figure out what to do with her tail when having sex, but now he found himself worried over the gem that wasn’t even a true eye on the center of his forehead.  _ Is it really so bad? _

“Whatever you intend on doing with my sketches, I suggest you hurry and finish it,” the Elezen pouted, turning his nose up and leaving the room without a backwards glance. 

Cid, distracted from his mild pity party at the sudden departure, wondered if maybe he and Carine had some sort of relation. Almost the same hair and basically the same insufferable attitude? It wasn’t improbable.

The tablet pinged again as he began his scanning, the alert from earlier becoming more urgent. Before he could tap out of it, Dainty had arrived at his side and touched the screen to open the message. He wanted no part in whatever she had done lest it lead the Garleans straight to them, so he pushed the device into her hands and let her attempt to read it. 

“I didn’t just get this so you could play Garlean engineer,” she told him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt before he could get too far away. “I’m also going to need you to translate what messages come in on this. We can’t read High Garlean.”

That was fair. “You shouldn’t just open any message, lass,” he warned her as he took the tablet back in his hands. “I haven’t had the chance to inhibit the tracking system on it yet.”

“Oh…”

He chuckled and quickly hacked his way through until he found what he was looking for and turned it off. “And if you’re really patient with me, I might even teach you the language,” he went on as he opened the message again and began reading. 

What had started off as mild curiosity in the report turned into great interest the further he went down the page. By the time he had finished his reading, Cid’s eyebrows were nearly touching in the center of his forehead. 

“What is it?” Dainty asked, carefully avoiding any direct contact with him as she tried to read whatever the message said.

“One of Gaius’ Tribunes has gone missing,” he replied, completely unaware of her change in behavior. “His ship fell over the Twelveswood.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I would ask what you plan on doing, but I already know your answer is going to be stupid."_

Acrid smoke filled Carine’s lungs as consciousness returned to her. Her head throbbed, her body ached, and the burning air seared her lungs as she forced herself to sit up. An orange glow surrounded her, flames dancing close enough she knew she should try and hurry to get out of there.

She just couldn’t make herself move. 

This was all her doing, though she hadn’t expected things to go quite like this. Apparently getting into a brawl at a control panel and mashing literally every button she could see wasn’t the wisest course of action when it resulted into the airship free falling from the sky. It was a miracle she survived the impact. From the looks of mangled and broken bodies nearby, the other Garleans on board had not been so lucky.

Coughing from the billows of smoke, Carine’s instinct took over and managed to get her to crawl away from the growing flames behind her. She couldn’t see anything through the haze, her eyes watered from the intense heat and burning chemicals in the air anytime she left them open for longer than a breath. If she couldn’t get out, she was as good as dead. 

Something, or someone, grabbed her shoulder and lifted her to her feet. She screamed in pain and surprise, her natural instinct to fight whatever it was that had a hold of her. She was too delirious from the fall and too weak from her injuries to do any damage to the man clad in striking red armor.

“You  _ stupid  _ bloody wench!” Nero’s voice snarled in her ear as he braced her against his side and forced her to move. Of course out of all the Garleans on this ship, the one she had intended to kill was the only one to survive.

He was a man on a mission somehow supporting her full weight as her body gave up and slumped against him. When that slowed his fight to get out of the wreckage, the Garlean picked her up and threw her over his shoulder as if she were nothing more than a sack. She couldn’t wrap her head around why he was helping her, but even in this state she wasn’t going to show any form of gratitude in him saving her life. 

She still had every intention of ending his for threatening her family.

The edges of her vision blurred as the thick air slowly suffocated her. Unlike Nero, she had no helmet and no protection from the poison of ceruleum fuel burning. Were it not for the constant bumping of the metal plates of his armor against her face, she might have lost consciousness long before they cleared the wreckage and found their way into a thick of trees. 

Carine didn’t know how long Nero carried her before she could no longer smell smoke or burning fuel. All she knew were the deep breaths of fresh air she was now able to take helped clear her mind and focus her attention to the fact she was being carried. Anger overtook reason and she began beating against his lower back and kicking her long legs to throw him off balance. “Let me go, damn you!”

Nero stopped immediately and dropped her to the ground without preamble. She lay there dazed for a moment as the impact had been enough to knock her silly after all the trauma she had endured. As she moved to sit up, she choked and coughed, her body expelling the smoke and debris she had inhaled earlier. Violently she vomited what little was in her stomach, acutely aware he watched her with disgust. 

“Get it all out. Or don’t. It’s the least you deserve for trying to murder us,” he sneered.

“Get bent,” Carine spat into the ground and wiped the last traces of vomit from her mouth as she sat upon her knees.

“Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?”

She hadn’t the energy to attack him, nor did she have the means. He was still covered head to toe in Garlean steel while she was wearing a shredded tunic and cotton breeches. Instead she struggled to her feet and turned to the northeast where the ship had fallen. 

The last traces of light burned softly behind them while a roaring fire scorched the tall trees of the Twelveswood before them. On the one hand, she was rather pleased with herself that she managed to keep her promise. On the other hand, that flame acted like a bloody beacon for any angry Elemental to find them. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Nero reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could get out of his immediate reach. “We are heading to Ala Mhigo, which is that way.”

“No,” Carine snapped, pulling her hand out of his punishing grip and pointed in the opposite direction.  _ “I _ am going  _ that _ way and putting as much distance between me and that mess as quickly as I can.”

But he would not be convinced. He reached for her again, this time his grip was bruising as he refused to let go. “You are  _ my _ prisoner.”

“Then you should have let me fucking die in the fire!” Before he had any time to react, Carine brought her knee up to the one part of him that wasn’t protected by copious amounts of armor, successfully bringing him to his knees with the force of the blow. He groaned and she thought she had him beat, but the bastard grabbed her ankle and brought her down to the ground, making her hit her head again. 

“I said you were my prisoner and we are going to Ala Mhigo.”

“And I said I am getting as far away from  _ that _ as possible,” she told him, kicking at his hands so she could stand and get a grip of her surroundings. “Besides, Gyr Abania isn’t that way. It’s that way.” When he turned his head to follow her pointed finger in the opposite direction, Carine swiftly kicked him and knocked him unconscious. 

She hadn’t expected it to be quite so easy, but there wasn’t time to waste as she looked over his armor to find anything she could use to defend herself. The forest was full of dangerous creatures, creatures that grew more dangerous as the days went on thanks to the corruption of the aether that was abundant here. 

Luckily for her, he had a single dagger on his person. It wasn’t enough to take on too many creatures at once, but it would serve its purpose in protecting her and providing food until she was able to find her way out. 

Truth be told, Carine hadn’t a clue where she was. The Twelveswood was vast and stretched for malms in all directions. Even if she were to try and climb one of the great trees there would be no hope in seeing anything to guide her and to do so now would give Nero plenty of time to wake up. Her best option was to keep moving and find shelter when she could, and pray to Nophica she was going the right way.

The only problem she had now was whether or not to leave the Garlean to his fate. She wanted to kill him and had every intention of doing so, but he had saved her by carrying her out of the wreckage. Sure, it was a means to his own ends; there appeared to be some nobility brought out through desperation in keeping her his prisoner, but it was still saving her life. 

If she left him now, he wouldn’t make it out of these woods alive.

Ignoring her headache, Carine removed the helmet from his head and tossed it into the thick brush surrounding them. She then made sure to pull off his machinist weapon and the gunblade sheathed to his back. Useless to her, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t have their purpose should they meet a corrupted boar on their journey or a diseased Treant, so she pulled them out of reach and hid them behind one of the nearby trees. 

The sun had long since descended turning the night of the forest into pure, utter darkness. Wherever they had landed must have been one of the wilder parts of the Twelveswood given the thickness of the trees and the brush. A chill crept over her skin, but she refused to acknowledge it. Fire would only bring more attention to them and she had to hope the burning airship was enough distraction.

Another couple bells of intense, frightening silence, and Nero began to stir. 

His first course of action was to try and find his weapons. When it was clear they were not on his person, Carine could hear him shuffling through the darkness and cursing her under his breath.

“You won’t find them. Not till morning,” she whispered, grinning only when it was clear she had likely made the man piss himself with fright.

“What did you do with them, savage?”

“I hid them until we are able to form an agreement.” The bells of lonely silence had given her much to consider and ample time to cool her temper.

He shuffled again, the clinking of his armor making her wonder if he was sitting or standing. It was impossible to tell in this light. “I don’t make agreements with your kind.”

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged and stood to her feet. It was a bluff and she damn well knew it as she couldn’t see her own hand waving in front of her face, but he didn’t have to know that. “I only thought to repay you for saving my life by saving yours.”

“I don’t intend on dying in these woods.”

“You do if you don’t listen to me and follow my advice.” That much was the truth. Even if they didn’t have to worry about the Elementals wiping their existence from this plane, there were still many things to contend with hidden in the darkest shadows. One wrong step, and he could find himself in the maw of a hungry beast or a pit of thorns that were as long as his own arm and just as thick. At least she had grown up knowing how to follow trails and read the signs of beasts.

He seemed aware of this too. Mayhap he would have been more confident with his weapons on his person, but without them he was nothing more than a walking snack. “And what are the terms of this agreement?”

“I can use magic when needed and you release me from my imprisonment.”

Nero laughed, the sound malicious and mocking. “Do you really think I would accept those terms? When I had to pull your foolish ass from the ship you crashed that killed my crew?”

“Yes, because I am likely going to have to save your ass more often than not as we find our way out of here. Besides, you can’t even point in the right direction to the place you wish to go.”

“You do realize you are speaking down to a Tribunus Laticl-”

“I don’t care,” she interrupted him. “Titles don’t matter in the Twelveswood unless you are a white mage or a hearer. Are you either one of those things?”

“What in seven hells is a-?”

“That’s what I thought.” Carine folded her arms over her chest. She wasn’t those things either. She knew a few conjurer spells and could do some basic cleansing that might please the Elementals enough to leave them alone, but it wouldn’t do much good if she couldn’t speak or listen to the beings. 

It seemed landing in the Black Shroud was both a blessing and a curse. 

“I saved your life, so you owe me,” Nero said after a few moments of silence. She rolled her eyes because he just couldn’t let it go. It didn’t matter that he was right, those lines blurred back when Garlemald established its dominance over Eorzea, but the niggling in the back of her mind seemed inclined to agree with him against her better judgement. 

Why would her intuition now, of all times, choose to defy her?

“Fine. I’m your prisoner, but only until I have to save your ass from whatever you are going to piss off,” she begrudgingly accepted with a pout she was glad he couldn’t see. Her blood boiled with the overwhelming sense of smugness that radiated from him at her submission and all she wanted to do was kick his face in again and be left with blessed silence. “You might want to get some sleep,” she added as she leaned against one of the large trunks. “I’m not slowing down to play babysitter for you tomorrow.”

“You should be the one getting some sleep,” Nero countered, sounding as chipper and awake as a Ziz first thing in the morning. “I’ll keep watch and kill whatever things frighten you so.”

Carine didn’t even have it in her heart to argue with him. He wouldn’t understand until he watched the last bits of his companions blow as dust on the wind. Even then, she doubted he would even care so long as it wasn’t him.

***

The air hung heavy through the trees with fog the next morning as the unlikely pair trekked their way through the underbrush. Keeping her word, Carine had shown Nero where she had hidden his weapons and had even allowed him to take back the single dagger she wanted to keep to protect herself. 

To his benefit, the forest was uncharacteristically quiet save for the popping coming from the wreckage they had left behind. They had likely scared away most of the wildlife from the immediate area with the crash, or there were Elementals floating around and trying to determine who had caused all the destruction. 

Carine desperately prayed it was the former. 

Nero insisted on going back to the airship and salvage any of the navigation tools that were on board against her protests. He didn’t trust her as far as he could throw her in guiding him through the Twelveswood even if she was honest, and she didn’t have the raw strength and power to defy him without even a simple weapon to use. 

“I’m beginning to think maybe you were right,” he said as he sifted through the debris with a perpetual frown. “Your methods are a bit excessive for the likes of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, unless they are in the habit of enlisting suicidal maniacs.”

“I told you I would be free of shackles before the sun set, didn’t I?” she reminded him from her perch on a stump. “And here we are.”

It didn’t take long for the Garlean to realize that everything on the ship had been completely and utterly destroyed. To her great delight however, he had found a door that revealed a few weapons that hadn’t been broken in the crash, one of which was a bow.

“You’re taking that?” he grimaced as he watched her string the weapon to her back. 

“And these,” she grinned with delight as she held up some daggers. “I can always make arrows if I need to. Now...what to wear…”

Her day clothes she’d been wearing in Limsa Lominsa had been nice for enjoying a good salty breeze straight off the ocean, but it wouldn’t serve any sort of purpose here in the Twelveswood. Her sandals would break within the bell and her tunic was already tattered and torn. As much as she hated dealing with dead Garleans, sometimes a girl had to do what she had to do. 

Even if it meant stealing their clothes. 

Nero’s face twisted with disgust as he realized what she was doing, but he made no move to stop her. Carine could be thankful he was at least practical. For the most part their armor had saved their clothes beneath which gave her a new shirt from one man and some slightly oversized boots from another. Pillaging the bodies had also earned her a nice belt with two sheaths for daggers and a pocket to carry whatever else she might need.

So busy in her work was she that Carine hadn’t noticed Nero getting closer and closer as she searched for anything and everything that might be used to keep them alive for this journey. It wasn’t until he grasped her wrist and threw on a handcuff that she realized this had been his plan all along. 

“I would ask what you plan on doing, but I already know your answer is going to be stupid,” she said looking deadpan up at him. 

His pale blue eyes narrowed and he scowled down at her as he attached her wrist to a bar. “There are times where I really consider how much I hate you,” he told her, pulling the weapons she had gathered and tossing them out of reach. “But you’re wrong. You’re the idiot that doesn’t know these ships come with a distress beacon that activates upon crashing.”

Shit. Okay, maybe she was the idiot in question for forgetting that key detail. That still didn’t make him less stupid. She had at least been smart enough to put the key to the shackles back in her glove. Against her desires, she shut her mouth and wallowed in her fuming anger as he made himself comfortable.

She really had been better off leaving him unconscious in the dirt.

Half a bell passed and her window for escape was slowly closing. Despite all the ruckus they had made the night before, there didn’t appear to be a single Elemental in range to investigate it. Not that it was a bad thing; Carine had no interest in having another close call with one, but it would have helped her argument that they needed to get the fuck out of here before one did come floating by.

Blessed reprieve was brought in the form of a Treant. It’s large form lumbered through the wreckage until it paused, confused as to where it now was. Gentle though the creatures might be by nature, they weren’t the brightest things when it came to change. Nero appeared well versed in what it was as he paid it little mind while he worked on bits and pieces of magitek. 

He had already shed his armor once the heat of the sun began evaporating the mist and dew that clung to the large leafy plants giving rise to the temperature and the humidity. To her surprise, he was tall and lithe, much like her own kind were, though a little more broad than most Elezen men. His strong arms flexed as he used his tools or wiped his brow. She didn’t know what he was working on, but she imagined it was something to help the others find them before she could make her plan of escape.

Too bad for him he had relaxed and turned his back. 

Quietly as she was able, Carine slipped the key from her glove and picked the lock while he was distracted with whatever it was in his hands. Careful not to snap any twigs or kick any metal debris, the Elezen slowly made her way around some rubble that kept her out of Nero’s line of sight. The weapons she wanted were still stacked close to him which meant she needed a distraction. 

“Blessed Nophica, thank you for sending the Treant to me...now please forgive me for what I am about to do,” she prayed silently as she moved closer to the unassuming Nero and then tossed a rock at the beast. 

The effect was immediate. Dumb and cumbersome as Treants were, they were quick to rage and a bitch to fight. Usually they took out their frustration on the first thing in their line of sight, which just so happened to be Nero tol Scaeva. Carine watched the Garlean soar through the air as the creature used its thin, twig-like arms to hit him. 

She took this window of opportunity to collect the weapons she had gathered earlier and take off as fast as the oversized boots would let her through the woods. This escape attempt stopped as soon as it began however, as a whole group of Treants were walking along their trail minding their own business. 

Until they saw the one now raging on Nero behind her. 

_ Shit shit shit shit! _

No amount of prayer could have protected her from their collective roar, so Carine turned tail and ran as fast as she could back to where Nero was currently fighting for his life against the Treant.

“Are you even capable of not creating a bloody disaster?” He glared as he caught sight of the stampeding beasts.

“I did warn you it was a bad idea to stick around,” she shot back as she brandished her daggers. 

“Only because you made it like this!” He ducked just in time to avoid another swing of its long arms. 

“To be fair, I thought there was just the one.”

Any words he threw at her in anger were lost as the wave of enraged Treants descended upon them. There would be time enough later to fight about who was right.


	14. Chapter 14

_ That’s a relief… _

The words echoed like a mantra in the back of Dainty’s mind as she watched Cid from his bed. Were her scales really so bad? She couldn’t imagine they would be. Much like the Miqo’te, Au’Ra women were a hot commodity among the pleasure houses in nearly every country. Maybe it was the eyes...they were much more strange than anyone else’s given the bright limbal rings. She considered maybe it was even the tail. Miqo'te men and women did have a better, fluffier tail…

_ Like he’s one to talk. Damn three-eyes... _

Dainty stole a glance at the handsome Garlean as he scrolled through the magitek tablet to see whatever other important messages he could glean that might come in use to the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. Mayhap it really was for the best considering who and what he was. Attractive he might be, but he was still a Garlean and Garleans had only one mission.

Destruction. 

Biggs and Wedge were in one corner of the room working on something that was supposed to help with getting a better image of the floating islands that surrounded the outer Lanosian coast while she was supposed to be offering her direct supervision. She had no reason to believe any of them would lean towards nefarious acts against them, but one could never be too careful. Cid might have pledged his allegiance to their cause, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten about the place he came from.

“Dammit!” Cid cursed under his breath. Dainty wasn’t supposed to hear it, given the way his back was turned to her as his broad shoulders hunched over the table, but it wasn’t hard to pick up on his feelings. Alphinaud said it had something to do with the bond, she considered it just paying attention.

“Is there a problem, Master Garlond?” she asked with a yawn. She really should quit spending so much time on his bed. It was making her lazy.

“Er, no, nothing,” the engineer stammered.

“But Chief, if anyone can help…” Wedge began, his eyes glancing between the woman currently sitting on the bed and the man working at the table.

Dainty rolled her eyes with a sigh and stood up to see what was wrong. She doubted she could be of much use; she had virtually no knowledge about magitek and barely a grasp on what he and his team were trying to accomplish. Leaning in beside him, she peeked past his thick arm and down at the tablet. Her eyes widened in surprise and intrigue at the three dimensional image of the Wanderer’s Palace currently presented on the screen. There were a few places that were blank, but the rendering was damn near perfect. 

“Really, there’s no need…” he stuttered, flinching away at her close proximity. 

_ That’s a relief…yeah, well fuck you too. _

“If there’s a problem, then I would know of it,” she told him calmly. The momentary anger that had flashed in her eyes he had missed thanks to her ability to mask it away as she stared up at him blankly. 

“It’s nothing a bit of time won’t take care of,” he smiled. Dainty found herself disarmed by the genuinity behind it, and the fact he looked too damn good with it plastered on his face. “But it would really help to get perspective of these points here and here,” Cid motioned to the blank spots on the rendered map of the palace. “In all the sketches I have scanned, there isn’t anything that is accurately depicted. It might not be important, or it might, but it wouldn’t hurt to have the complete picture.”

Dainty looked over the image with a tilt of her head and considered it. “How long would you need to study the sites?”

“Not long at all, especially if I take this with me,” he shook the magitek tablet slightly. “This can scan it even from a distance, though we shouldn’t do it from  _ too _ far away…”

He hadn’t even finished his statement before she was walking back to the bed and slipping on her shoes. “If you want to get those images and more, you best follow me. The sun waits for no one,” she told him as she touched the handle to the door. 

Confident that the Garlean was following her, Dainty made her way down the hall and up a few flights of stairs that took them from the bowels of the palace to the prettier walkways bathed in warm sunlight. The Scions and all that offered to help usually stuck to the darker corridors hidden from plain sight in case Galean airships flew overhead, but the occasional stroll through these walkways with the cascading foliage overhead was a lovely reprieve from time to time. 

Cid had grown used to this during his stay, only coming out when the scouts that patrolled the coast knew there would be no ships flying by. It wasn’t often, which was why so little progress had been made since the Scions arrival. The bloody tinheads were  _ always _ on patrol making sure no one dared defied their rule and superiority. 

_ Thank the Twelve he doesn’t seem the sort, _ Dainty thought to herself as she cast a glance behind her towards the white-haired Garlean following. 

The stables, or so they had been called, were located near the west wing of the palace just outside the courtyard where first timers usually arrived. No one really knew what they were used for during their golden age, but now wooden makeshift stalls lined the walls that were still sturdy and standing. The eastern wall was partially crumbled and vines had taken advantage of the space to grow and flourish. Sunlight trickled in through their broad leaves patterning the floor that changed with each passing breeze. 

Chocobos of various sizes and colors lifted their heads from their stalls and ‘kweh’d at the newcomers, but none of them were quite large enough to carry both her and Cid for long periods of time. Instead, she eyed Carine’s griffin with a grin.

“You don’t mean to put me on that thing again, do you?” Cid asked, his voice erring on caution. He had decidedly stood his ground several fulms from where Dainty was gathering the saddle and bridle shaking his head so that his white hair swished from side to side. For the briefest of moments, the Au’Ra found herself wishing to stroke her fingers through it and wondered if it felt as silky as it looked. When he met her quizzical stare, she dashed away the thought. 

_ That’s a relief. _

“And why wouldn’t we? Do you see another bird here big enough to carry the two of us?” she motioned with her arm to the other residents. 

“You can’t blame me for not having fond memories of my first ride on that beast.”

Dainty stifled a chuckle remembering all too well. “True, but Carine isn’t here and Talon is quite the gentleman.” The griffin puffed out his chest with pride, yellow eyes beaming at the compliment. Such proud creatures they were. 

Eventually the engineer conceded to her will and even helped get Talon ready for their flight. A quick word through the linkshell to make sure there would be no airships flying through for the next bell or so confirmed they were in the clear. Dainty mounted first and then held out her hand for Cid to take. He was hesitant, his eyes focused on the scales that adorned her wrist before accepting and taking his place behind her. 

“You might want to hold on,” she grinned, pushing aside the unpleasant feelings he had stirred within her. “He leaps up pretty quick.” The Garlean mumbled something about knowing just how the beast moved, but his strong arms wrapped around her tiny waist anyway, and then they were taking off. 

Cid loved flying. Usually. On his airship he could control the skies with ease and grace to spare. He was a pilot by nature, a gift that came so naturally to him that other pilots were envious. Nero could hate him all he wanted for being a prodigy, but Midas couldn’t have birthed his ability to work an airship.

But the back of a griffin was decidedly  _ not _ an airship. 

The beast had a mind of its own. It moved with the wind as naturally as he would have, but it wasn’t  _ him _ controlling it. Dainty might have had the reins, but he couldn’t put complete faith that such a diminutive woman could control an animal of his size and strength. Talon would dive or bank unexpectedly, the motion setting unease within his stomach and making him cling to the small woman for dear life. 

Which was another issue altogether. Cid was close to her. Really close. His chest was pressed tightly to her back, his arms wrapped around her waist as if that’s where they belonged. Even the mark on his chest seemed to hum in content, a feeling he hadn’t had for as long as he’d known. To make matters worse, her tail (though comfortably tucked to the side) was rubbing places on him that were making things far more difficult on his state of mind. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel any part of  _ him _ that she hadn’t exclusively granted permission to touch her. 

A shame his body wasn’t quite in agreeance. 

“Is this where you need to scan?” Dainty asked. Her voice was breathless, likely from the winds coming off the sea nearly beating them to death in the air. She had pulled the griffin to a stop over the deep blue waters below so that they could hover in place. The steady beats of his wings let the Garlean know this was a taxing endeavor and gave him a limited window of opportunity to work. 

Cid pulled the tablet from the saddlebag by his leg and held it up to try and get as much of the palace on the screen as possible. Somehow Dainty had picked the perfect location without having even tried, a thought that made him smile. 

_ Observant, that one, _ he thought to himself. “Aye, this place is good. It’ll take but just a moment to get the scan done.”

They repeated the process a few more times, even going further to try and scan other smaller floating islands Alphinaud had not sketched. As time went on, Cid noticed less and less of the way her body felt against him and became much more comfortable with the constant contact. The hum in his chest was rather nice, the more accustomed to it he became, but it was her laughter that struck him hardest. 

More often than not he had nearly slipped from the saddle trying to get the device in his hands to capture as much of their surroundings as he could. Everytime he did, he would jerk quickly and grasp the woman tightly. Had it been any other person, he imagined they would have gotten annoyed with his clumsiness, but not Dainty. She took it all in stride and helped him with a bubble of laughter that had his heart racing. 

He rather wished they weren’t nearing the end of this venture.

“There! That ought to do it,” he finally announced as the last scan was made. Cid shoved the tablet into the saddlebag where it was safest and wrapped his arms around Dainty to signal they were ready to head back. At his touch, the Au’Ra had gone completely rigid. It made little sense as they had been touching the entire time, why now would she be bothered by it? “Dainty? Something wrong?”

“Shit!” That was the only word said as she stared off into the distance. He looked at her confused until he followed her gaze and found the reason for her sudden change in attitude. 

It was but a speck in the distance, but the speed at which it flew meant they had a couple of minutes before the Garlean airship was within range to spot them if it hadn’t already. He swallowed hard, confliction tearing him apart within. No, he didn’t love what had become of his homeland and their policies, but it was home and he was moments away from being found. 

But if they found him, they would find Dainty. If they found Dainty, she was as good as dead. 

For some reason, Cid was not at all interested in that outcome. 

“Do you trust me?” he asked her, counting down the seconds until the ship would be able to pick up on their lifeforms. 

“I trust we need to get back to the Palace.”

“No, getting any closer will put us in range of their scanners. They’ll find us and as much pride as this beast has, it can’t outfly an airship,” he told her as he buckled the saddlebag securely. “He knows the way back, right?”

Dainty looked over her shoulder at him, brows furrowed in question. “Yes, but why?”

Cid didn’t bother answering her as he used his strength against her to pull her close and slip off the side of the saddle into the waves below. A breathless gasp betrayed her surprise and he felt her arms wrapping tightly around his as the pair of them plummeted to the sea. He twisted so that she was braced against his chest and that he would take the brunt of the impact,

The moment they hit the water, Cid found himself at a loss of air. The force from the fall winded him and now salty water filled his nose and mouth as he struggled against the push and pull of the waves to find the way up. Disoriented, no matter which way he tried to swim, there was no blessed air to relieve his screaming lungs. He was nearly ready to give up when he felt the small hand of Dainty grasping his arm and pull him to the surface. 

He coughed and choked and expelled large amounts of seawater from his stomach and lungs. His throat burned and body ached from the impact, but otherwise he was whole. Dainty tread water across from him, her daggered glare speaking louder than any words she could have mustered. 

Now was not the time for being angry however, and Cid quickly looked around to see how far the ship had come during their plunge. Talon was already gone, his form disappearing in the trees of the island nearby. He hoped the griffin would return, his calculations had bloody counted on it.

“How long can you hold your breath?” he asked once he caught sight of the ship. There was an outcropping of rocks nearby he had noticed before he pulled them off the griffin that could provide them with adequate shelter from the scanners should they get there fast enough. Getting out of the air was the quickest way to keep the Garleans on board from thinking there was anything they should pay attention to in this region. Swimmers were common enough, though he wasn’t sure how many of them were common out this far, but they were still close enough to a small island to be looked at as people just out for a day. 

“Long enough,” she replied. There was no venom in her voice which surprised him after the stunt he had just pulled. Her eyes were looking in the same direction as his meaning she had already caught on to his action. 

“Good. When I say down, go under water and stay there as long as you can. They should pass by without a second glance.”

Dainty didn’t question, she just began paddling as quickly as she could towards the rocky outcropping that would serve as their temporary sanctuary for the time being. It was all Cid could do to keep up with her powerful strokes. Skilled swimmer as he was, he was clearly no match for the woman sliding through the water as though she were born for it. 

_ I wonder if that’s an Au’Ra thing, _ he thought to himself as he counted down the seconds. The sound of the ship came closer and he finally yelled. Without hesitation, Dainty dived under the waves and continued surging forward with quick kicks of her legs. The water was clear enough he could see her swimming and getting just further and further ahead of him. True to her word, Dainty had no issue holding her breath while his lungs were already begging for air. 

So caught up in watching her swim, he forgot to keep track of the seconds passing so he knew when to rise and catch a breath. With nothing left to go on, he took a risk and raised his head above the waves and gasped for air. One quick look around and it was clear the ship had passed on by without even bothering to circle around the Palace. 

His plan had been a success. 

It took him a minute more to reach the rocks where Dainty was already perched, her eyes watching him cautiously. 

“You ruined my dress,” she huffed. 

Cid laid back against the rock to catch his breath and calm the burning in his lungs. “Sorry about that. Wasn’t my intention.” He turned his face to the side to watch as she stood and looked down at the mess he had caused. 

There was no denying the expensive silk she had been wearing was ruined. The hand-painted designs on the delicate fabric bled and faded into a watercolor rainbow that was...almost pretty...if it weren’t for the total loss of time and effort made by the artist. 

The clinging wet mess wrapped around her left nothing to the imagination as she pulled it from her flesh making soft, sucking noises. The Garlean swallowed, unable to tear his eyes off her petite form. Small and...well  _ dainty _ as her form might suggest, Dainty was no teenager. There was an elegance to her in the soft, subtle curve of her hip that no child could possess. Her movements were that of a woman, coordinated and fluidly graceful as she bent and twisted to gather the silk in her hands.

His gaze drifted down to her now exposed thigh as she tried to wring out the excess water to no avail. The mark that branded her enticed him as much as it mocked him. He still didn’t know what being a soulmate entailed nor did he know what it meant for his future with her. The others had it easier. Alphinaud had his twin sister, Lyse and Y’shtola were lovers as were Alrek and Reta’li. There was little doubt in his mind he and Dainty weren’t meant to be lovers considering how close she was with the Antecedent and he hoped this discovery wasn’t putting a wrench between them, but he couldn’t figure out how they were even meant to be close friends either. 

Friends were supposed to come together naturally through shared interests and experience. As far as he knew, they shared nothing in common. She was an Au’Ra, he was a Garlean. She was an Eorzean, he was an Imperial. She was some axe wielding warrior that liked to wear fancy dresses, he was an engineer that sometimes wore the same clothes three days straight if he was neck deep in one of his projects. People like them didn’t just mesh, romantically or platonically. 

“So I guess we will have to swim over to land then?” Dainty asked and pointed to the shore several hundred yalms away. He followed her finger and groaned, his tired body already aching at the thought of having to swim that far. “Probably should have considered a different plan, hm?”

She was angry and she had every right to be. He hadn’t warned her what he was going to do, he simply acted. “They would have picked up on us flying off rather than falling,” he said, not quite bringing himself to apologize. He had protected the Scions when he should have led the imperials straight there. “The scanners can’t pick up on things very well in the water and Talon isn’t exactly a natural predator in these parts.”

“Wouldn’t they have just followed him?”

Cid shook his head, “The only thing the Garleans look out for are people plotting against them or moving things illegally. A griffin might make them scratch their heads, but wouldn’t be cause for any sort of alarm. Besides, he wouldn’t be the first griffin out this way. There are several in Gyr Abania last I checked and I know a few soldiers that like to try and tame them for pets.”

Dainty remained quiet as she stood there with her hands on her hips scanning the water. Her curls had fallen out since their impromptu dive, but the wind blowing around them was beginning to bring them back with each passing minute. “How far away do you think they are by now?” she asked.

“It’s a smaller ship, a scout more than anything making regular patrols. A few malms away by now at least given the speed it was traveling- uh, Dainty? What are you doing?” Cid stopped his wondering and sat up when he noticed her fingers beginning to weave a spell. He didn’t know much of anything about magic, but he knew she couldn’t make a boat out of thin air and given their current predicament, that shouldn’t be a traveling one.

“Getting off this bloody rock,” she muttered, her concentration going into the workings of manipulating aether. 

“But I can’t-”

She turned and looked at him with a devilish look to her eyes, “Oh I know. This is for ruining my dress.” Before he could reach out and grab her, she blinked out of sight, leaving him stranded on a rock in the ocean with several hundred yalms to swim in shark infested waters to the mainland.


	15. Chapter 15

Carine crashed through the trees running as fast as her legs could take her. Somewhere close behind was Nero trying his best to keep up. The fight with the Treants had not exactly gone in their favor. There were far too many of them and they were much stronger than the Elezen remembered. The beasts had numbers on their side, but at least she and Nero had speed and memory that lasted longer than a few minutes working in their favor. 

When her lungs screamed in protest and she felt as though her legs would give out, Carine stopped and bent over panting and gasping for air. Her heart pounded within her chest from exertion, her feet burning from the oversized boots rubbing her flesh raw. A bubbling stream trickled nearby, it’s sweet melody calling to her and promising relief. Removing her boots, she dipped her toes into the cool water and hissed. 

“What in bloody hells are you doing?” Nero stumbled as he came to a sudden stop beside her. 

“My feet hurt and I need air,” Carine flinched as the water ran over her raw feet. Gods, they were a mess. Blood oozed from the blisters formed at her heels and toes from where the top layers of her skin had completely rubbed off.  _ Stealing boots off a Garlean is a bad idea, _ she thought to herself, but what other choice did she have? She considered all her options as she fondled the small green stone dangling from her neck.  _ I could try that one spell… _

Nero mumbled something about ‘bloody Eorzeans’, but she chose to ignore it as she looked around to see where they were. Trees towered over them as far as the eye could see. Few patches of sunlight illuminated the forest floor shining down upon white wildflowers growing like a blanket. Birds chirped in the branches and water trickled over smooth rocks, but nothing alluded to where they were. 

The trouble with the Twelveswood was that in the wildest places everything looked the same. There was a reason the Gridanians stuck to the areas closest to the city and only in the areas where people had managed to settle without upsetting the precious balance. If the Elementals said don’t go somewhere, they didn’t fucking go there because no one wished to face the Greenwrath. Unfortunately, there were a lot of places the Elementals said not to go and it seemed they had crashed right in the middle of one of them.

Carine hardly noticed when Nero knelt beside her and only really cared he was still around when he grabbed at her wrist. The mark burned, but it was the clink of something metallic in his hand that had her pulling away from his grasp. What had gone from an attempt to shackle her again had turned into an all out wrestling match between the Elezen and the Garlean. She impressed him with her speed and strength and he impressed her with his cunning and dexterity as they tumbled in the stream fighting each other off. 

Punches were thrown, teeth were bared, heads butted and neither of them submitted. This went on for several minutes, their grunts and verbal challenges echoing through the otherwise peaceful wood. Nero used his superior strength to pin Carine on her back in the stream, but the water wasn’t deep enough here to pose a threat and she was quick to use her long arms to reach out and grasp at his throat.

However, the plan to make him loosen his grip on her backfired in the worst of ways when he snapped one of the cuffs on her wrist. Before he could snap on the other, she pulled back and slammed her head into his. The Garlean leaned off her just enough to give her a chance to scramble away and try to make a run for it, but the bastard was clever. He grabbed the other cuff and slammed it on his own wrist linking them together. 

“Aha! Can’t run away from me this time, can you?” His triumphant grin was almost more than she could bear, so Carine punched him in the face for good measure. He cursed as he wiped blood from his busted lip and gave her an icy glare. 

“You’re a fucking  _ idiot, _ do you know that?” she rolled her eyes. “I managed to get out of these shackles before, I can do it again.” To emphasize her point, she reached into her glove where she had replaced her pick only to find it wasn’t there. Her furrowed brow deepened as she searched the other glove and then felt up along her breeches. “No, no no no…” 

Dropping to her knees, Carine began searching through the rocks in the stream where they had been fighting just moments before not caring at all that she was dragging Nero along. 

“Lose something?” he sneered, earning himself a daggered glare. 

“I hate you.”

“Glad to see the feeling is mutual,” he replied with a sardonic grin. “This is  _ your _ doing, after all.”

Carine’s eyes flashed dangerously.  _ “My _ doing?! You didn’t have to arrest me or take me to fucking Ala Mhigo!”

“Yes  _ your _ doing. You were the one spying on me using an illegal communications device that would have been evidence, but you destroyed it. That alone is enough grounds for arrest, but then you had to go and crash an airship killing nearly everyone on board including yourself. Not to mention the hoard of trees you single-handedly pissed off. Hells, you might have even had your handy key had you not foolishly fought me.” He listed everything off one by one on his fingers making her angrier all the while. She had enough people in her life telling her she was too hasty in her actions from her mother to Minfilia. The last person she wanted to hear it from was a bloody Garlean. 

Carine crossed her arms over her chest, or as best she could since he kept the one at bay. “You threatened my family. What was I supposed to do?”

He shrugged, “I applaud your efforts, however futile they were, but I can’t say I’m pleased you dragged me to...wherever here is.”

“You didn’t have to follow me,” she pointed out. It would have been better had he not. She wouldn’t have felt nearly as bad as him getting hopelessly lost in the Twelveswood and ending up dead had he run in a different direction when shit hit the fan. Hells, he could have stayed behind. It was the sound of airships above them that had made her take off like a rabbit hunted by a wolf. 

That and the explosives they used to create a sufficient landing space. Had their crash from the night before not alluded to their presence, direct disrespect to the Twelveswood would alert the Elementals to it. 

“Oh but I did,” Nero stood and forced her to with a yank on the shackles binding them together. “You see, you know things about the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. I need said things to help me track them down and end their organization.”

The Elezen rolled her eyes and yanked back, a smile spreading over her face when he cursed and glared. If she was going to have to be kept miserable by this arrangement, so would he. Badly as he wanted to get moving, he wouldn’t do so unless she pointed him in the right direction first seeing as she was the only one to know anything about where they were. So she stood her ground and blinked at him defiantly. 

“What?”

“You better have a key on you to get this shit off our wrists or we’re as good as dead,” she told him flat. It was dangerous here, too dangerous for them to be wandering aimlessly without a good way to defend themselves from an attack whether it be by the wildlife or an Elemental happening upon them. 

Nero just laughed and shook his head, “You think I had time to think about grabbing a fucking key while trees were trying to kill me? We could always go back to the crash and find another set.”

She didn’t bother gracing him with a response. Already she was trying to think of the best way to remove the shackles, though nothing came to mind. These weren’t the state of the art cuffs with a built in scanner she had hijacked from another run in with her Garlean foes so she couldn’t rely on Nero’s fingerprint to unlock them, and being made of Garlean steel made them damn near indestructible. 

Knowing there was nothing close to where they were that could help, Carine did the next best thing and started walking. It wasn’t in the direction Nero wanted them to go and he made sure to protest every step of the way loudly. His defiance made the journey remarkably slower than it had to be which only served to annoy her more. She knew it was all a ruse to get her to submit and admit defeat, but he didn’t know who he was dealing with.

Carine submitted for no one.

It was late afternoon when she finally allowed them to stop and rest. Both were drenched in sweat from the rising humidity, their clothes clinging to their bodies as they sat beside the stream she followed. Nero’s golden locks were haphazardly strewn over his head, blond strands hanging over his hideous ‘third eye’ that glinted at her every time a patch of sunlight hit it. Her feet were sliced to all seven hells from branches and rocks on the forest floor. Both of their wrists were chafed and sore from the constant push and pull they put each other through to cause harm.

Carine was grateful however, for having been raised in the Black Shroud. Her history as a Wood Wailer would likely be the only thing that kept them alive, if it was enough at all. There were three things they had to have before nightfall; water, food, and shelter. Though her stomach demanded something to eat as she hadn’t had anything since the small bit of stale bread and moldy cheese before being loaded onto the airship, the Elezen was willing to forgo food for tonight in favor of shelter. 

Just the thought of having to gather with the man tied to her wrist was daunting. There was the one spell with the stone she could use that would put her in her full bard get up, but the last thing she wanted to deal with was the added strain on her wrist. The cuff was tight enough, adding a thick layer of cloth and leather would likely cut off her circulation. That meant she had to go without her bow. That meant they would be living off berries and roots until they found a way to get it off.

Carine cupped her hand in the water and brought it to her lips. She repeated the motion several times, glad that finding water wouldn’t be an issue. With any luck, this stream would find its way to a main water source which meant she would be able to find any number of abandoned settlements along its course to camp out in. That would take care of their shelter if not tonight, then tomorrow or the next day. For now a cave or hollow tree would serve that purpose.

Nero mimicked her, drinking water until his thirst was satisfied and then rinsed the back of his neck from the sweat gathered there. She stole a glance watching as he did so and thought it was probably for the best he hadn’t been wearing his armor when the Treants attacked. Just imagining trekking through the thick foliage and heated air around them in a full suit of armor made her feel hot. 

But the trickling of water over his neck had another... _ unpleasant _ side effect. Not only was her stomach growling from the lack of food since the day before, but she suddenly couldn’t recall the last time she had relieved her bladder. This awareness made her lower abdomen ache as her eyes drifted to where their hands were connected, the realization she was going to have to do  _ that _ with him in such close proximity hitting her like a knife in the gut. 

_ What a cruel twist of fate you weave Nymeia, _ she thought hopelessly. Relieving herself was never a problem in the wood, nor was it a problem knowing other people were close by. It was something she had done on countless occasions before being both a Twin Adder and a Wood Wailer. Doing that with literally someone she hated attached to her arm made the task far more daunting than it ever had to be.

“Is there a problem?” Nero asked as she squirmed and pressed her legs together. If she could just not think about it, maybe focus on her raw and aching feet it would go away. 

“Nope. Not at all,” she replied and dipped her toes into the cool water. That turned out to be a mistake. The feel of the liquid streaming over her skin had the complete opposite effect and made the need to go worse. 

Nero watched curiously as she shifted and moved, clearly not getting comfortable no matter what she tried. Mayhap if they continued up the stream they would find a deeper part where she could just swim and relax without worrying about it. She was disgusting, her face still coated with dried blood from the crash and her body covered in ash and soot and dirt. A perfect excuse to put herself in the water and...Her nose wrinkled at the thought. No one liked when someone pissed in the stream even if the current took it away and it didn’t change the fact  _ he _ would still be right there.

“Seems to me like something is wrong,” the Garlean went on, a knowing smile curling at his lips. “You look rather uncomfortable.”

Carine motioned down to her tattered feet, glad to have an excuse that was viable to lean on. “Have you seen my feet? You try wearing oversized boots in the forest and then go around barefoot. It’s not pleasant.”

Nero shrugged and stood up forcing her to do the same. It gave some relief from the strain on her bladder, but not enough to eliminate it as she followed him away from the water. He stopped at the base of one of the trees and looked up as if there was something that interested him. Carine followed his gaze wondering what was up there that was so fascinating when she felt her arm jostle and heard the sound of a zipper being undone. Her immediate reaction was to look down and see what he was doing, but the sight of his cock peeking out of his breeches had her reeling.

“What in Seven Hells do you think you’re doing?!” She shrieked, pulling her arm as far away from  _ him _ as she could. “Fucking  _ pervert!” _

“You were the one who looked,” Nero chuckled without being the least bit bothered by her reaction. “Not that I blame you, I do have a nice cock, however I’m just trying to take a piss so you can stop with the overreacting.”

Carine glared and desperately wished she could kill him with looks alone. “A warning would have been nice.”

He shrugged, “Seemed unnecessary given the current situation. It was bound to happen with or without your permission.”

She hated that he was right and hated more that she had allowed him to make her uncomfortable when she could have done it first.

_ Maybe I will pee on him in the stream, _ she thought, but quickly dashed it away. As much as she might loathe the guy, there were some lines she just couldn’t cross. 

Carine tried to look anywhere else, tried to appear interested in anything other than the sound of him pissing on the tree and the way it made her have to go more. She focused on the bark and the thick moss that grew upon it, she watched the ants make their way up the trunk with bits of leaves in their pincers. She even watched a tiny mouse peek out from beneath one of the roots at her feet, but nothing could take her mind off the satisfied sigh that emanated from the man beside her as he finished up.

“Ah, much better. I do think I can go on now, what about you?” he turned his blue-eyed gaze to her as he tucked himself away and zipped his pants.

“Uh, yeah…” she mumbled and led the way back to the stream with little success in keeping her composure. 

“Sure you don’t need to go as well?” he chimed in from slightly behind her. 

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” 

“Eliminating waste from your body is a perfectly natural function,” he replied. “And I find absolutely nothing erotic about the act or  _ you.” _

Carine stopped in her tracks, fists clenching at her sides. Gods, she hoped they would find something sometime soon that would separate them. She had plenty of opportunity to just teleport herself away to the patched up aetheryte the Scions had built within the depths of the Wanderer’s Palace, but if Nero managed to get out of this alive there was a good chance he would hunt her down to the corners of the earth. There would be nowhere she could safely hide, and he knew who her family was which would put him at the advantage. 

Suddenly taking a piss in front of him didn’t seem quite so intimidating. 

_Suck it up. Won’t be long until the other issue comes around so might as well get over it,_ she encouraged herself. He wasn’t interested in her just as she wasn’t interested in him, a fact that hadn’t changed after seeing his dick out in the open. If she could maintain the same level of hatred she had for him after that, he would surely do the same. 

“You stay on the other side of this bush, got it?” she pointed to where she wanted him to be.

He offered no protest as she did her best to hide from view. It wasn’t the easiest thing to shimmy down her breeches and squat with one arm stretched behind her, but she managed. The relief she felt was more than reward enough for the effort and her embarrassment over the act was long gone by the time she was pulling up her clothes. 

“Now, was that so hard?” Nero smirked as she rolled her arm to ease the tension created. 

Carine didn’t bother giving him the satisfaction of having been right. “We need to find somewhere to hide out tonight,” she changed the subject as her eyes roamed around them. “A hollow log, a tree, a cave, anything like that to keep us out of sight and out of mind.”

“And we need food.”

“We need shelter more.”

Nero narrowed his eyes at her and pressed his lips into a fine line. “We’ve done well so far.”

“Yeah,  _ so far. _ But what about when our luck runs out and a crazed beast fueled by corruption comes charging at us?”  _ Or worse...an Elemental… _ she added as an afterthought. “We have a few bells left before we have to bed down and I can gather some stuff along the way.”

“Or,” he said as he shuffled and reached behind his back pulling out a machinist weapon with a smirk, “we can hunt along the way and make it that much quicker to feed both of us rather than relying on nuts and berries or whatever else you savages eat.”

Anger flashed in her eyes as she reached for the weapon for what felt like a hundred different reasons. First and foremost was the fact he could use that bloody thing to take off their stupid shackles and be separated, something that would have saved her the embarrassment from earlier. Another thing was a weapon like that was not accepted by the Twelveswood. It was unnatural and devastating. If he fired it off at anything, it would likely bring them to the attention of the Elementals that protected these unsettled parts of the Shroud.

“How long have you had that on you?” she demanded. He was taller than her, only a few ilms, but it was enough to keep it from her grasp as he held it over his head. 

“Did you really think I would be stupid enough to leave myself unarmed when in the wilds?”

“You really want me to answer that?” Carine quirked a brow. 

“Says the one currently weaponless.”

She growled in frustration and gave up. All they were doing was wasting energy on fighting, energy they might have to use to survive this place for however long it took for her to figure out how to leave. “You could have at least used it to remove this,” she lifted their wrists and jangled the metal that connected them.

But Nero shook his head in a firm no. “I have limited ammo and you seem to think it is so dangerous here. I’d rather use it in the case of an emergency.”

“You just wanted to use it to hunt food!”

“Food is rather important.”

Carine pinched her brow and let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. Keep it, but don’t you dare use it on anything unless I tell you, got it?”

“Whatever you say,” he tucked the weapon back into the waistband of his breeches. “Whatever you say.”


End file.
